Vault of Vytal
by ChiefD3m0n1c
Summary: Team RWBY has encountered four strange warriors called the Vault Hunters. A woman of immense power, a soldier, a midget psychopath and an assassin. What brought them to Vytal... and how will they get back? Rated T for violence, swearing, alcohol use and more violence.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

This was an idea thrown to me by a reader and I thought it was a little strange, but it could be very cool. So I'm going to try and combine RWBY with the crazy characters of our (or just mine) favorite shoot and loot game, Borderlands 2! Here we go!

Chapter 1: Arrival

Blake dodged a swing from a Beowolf as it attempted to claw her to pieces. She shot forward and sliced it in half. "It'll be an easy one." Blake cursed as she rolled out of the way of another Beowolf swing. "Just protect a village from a few Grimm is all." Team RWBY had been sent out to take care of some Grimm that had been harassing a village, seemed simple enough. The only thing about it was the fact that 'some' turned out to be many, like a small army many.

Each member stood at a side if the wall that surrounded the town and Blake fought as hard as she could to defend it. It was easy since all of the Grimm on her side seemed to come right for her instead of attacking the town. She jumped into the air as a Beowolf tried to claw at her again. She came down and sliced the head off the Beowolf. She was struck from the side by another Beowolf that sent her flying into a tree.

She slammed to the ground but immediately stood back up. She could feel a pain in her side, probably a broken rib or two. She held her blades at the ready as another Beowolf made its charge. She counted thirteen Beowolves that she could see, but she heard many more in the brush beyond her sight. She ducked under the Grimm's slash and sliced the beast's stomach open.

It howled in pain as its intestines fell to the ground and it collapsed. Two Beowolves charged her this time, and she was able to dodge both of their swings. She cut one of Beowolf's leg off, causing it to collapse to the ground in pain. The other grabbed her and threw her, slamming her into another tree. She could feel the pain in her side increase, definitely a few broken ribs now.

She stood up, clutching her side in pain as the creatures approached her. Thunder echoed through the sky and rain started to fall from the sky. It began to pour very quickly and would have normally given the Grimm a form of camouflage, but with her being a cat Faunus she could see very well in limited light. She charged the unsuspecting Grimm and sliced one of the beast's throats. It grabbed at its throat as its blood began to pour from the wound.

The creatures reacted quickly and two of them charged her. She dodged the first swing, but the pain in her side flared and caused her to stumble. The second swing connected with her arm and sent her rolling along the ground. She forced herself to get up and quickly looked at her arm. Her arm had several serious gashes in her arm and were bleeding profusely.

She could feel herself getting dizzy and fell to the ground. She saw the Grimm start moving in for the kill. "So this is it?" She quietly laughed to herself. "This is how I die?" The Grimm were almost halfway to her when something strange happened. A small vortex slammed down from the sky between her and the Grimm.

She thought that it was a pointless thing, since she was bleeding out a little too quickly. Then she saw something… someone, standing in the center of the vortex. The vortex receded almost as quickly as it appeared, but left a man standing when it landed. He was skinny as a rail and clad in a black, skin tight suit and wore a black helmet that seemed very slim for a human or a Faunus. He reached to his side and seemed to pull a blue katana from nowhere.

He turned his head to the side and looked at Blake. He then used his free hand and tossed her a dark red vial with a needle in it. "Put it in the wound." The man proclaimed. "It shall heal you injuries, while I kill these foes." She was going to say something, but the man shot forwards with lightning speed, almost as fast as Ruby. He sliced a Beowolf in half and sent his blade into another's just within seconds.

Another Beowolf swung at the man, but he did nothing to dodge the swing. The beast's claw went through the man and he vanished from sight, even Blake's. The blade emerged from the beast's chest and sliced up, cleaving the beast in half. He spun around and threw something at the three Beowolves that charged him. Blake had almost forgotten about healing herself and she stuck the needle into her arm.

She pulled the small lever on the side and injected the red liquid into her wound. Her wound almost instantly felt better and she could see the wound already starting to close. She looked back up after she heard the Beowolves howl in pain. Each of them looked different in their death, one burning, another being electrocuted, and the last was melting into a green puddle. The man had already cleaved two more into pieces and didn't seem to be slowing down.

She heard a Beowolf growl near her and she looked to her right to see the one that had its leg cut off by her. It started crawling over to her and she tried to move, but she was too weak. Its teeth were right by her face and opened to reveal more. She took a breath to accept her death and closed her eyes, but she was then bathed in warmth after a loud gun shot. She opened her eyes to find herself faced by a bloody stump and covered in blood.

She looked to the man who was holding a golden sniper rifle that had no scope, but a blade attached to the barrel. He was in a kneeling position and stood up with a sense of pride. A Beowolf jumped at him from the bushes, and he reacted just as fast. The man spun and drove the blade on his rifle into the Beowolf's head. "You fight with no skill." The man proclaimed as he lowered the choking beast. "You are no challenge to me, and now deserve death."

He tossed the beast to the ground and walked over to Blake, whose wounds were nearly healed. "Who are you stranger?" Blake questioned weakly. The man's helmet bathed her in a red light as a hologram appeared in front of it; a red zero. "My name is Zer0." He responded as he touched where Blake's wounds were. "How have your injuries healed, so quickly right now?"

"There'll be more time to explain when I get to a doctor."

She was able to stand but stumbled and Zer0 caught her. "Can you make it back?" He questioned. "Or do you need my help more? I can get you there." Blake replied "No. I can't abandon my post."

"Then let me take it, I will take your post from you, I will keep it safe."

"Okay. I'll call someone to come get me."

Zer0 let her down gently and he turned back to the forest with his sword drawn. "Enemies approach." He declared. "I will take care of them now, just be safe woman." Blake replied as she pulled out her scroll "My name is Blake." He corrected "Just be safe please, Blake." He ran into the forest, followed by the sound of Beowolves howling in pain.

She called for help and was able to get someone to come get her. She leaned against a tree and a thought finally popped into her head just as she drifted off to sleep. "Haiku." She thought. "He speaks in haiku."

Well there you have it! The Haiku Hitman has landed in the world of RWBY. How did her get there? Where are the other Vault Hunters? All in due time faithful readers, and here's a little something for those who are not as savvy when it comes to Borderlands.

Zer0: an unknown assassin who went after the Vault in search of a challenge. Wanted by the Hyperion Corporation for political assassinations he is probably my favorite character. Very little is known about him, other than his main fashion of speaking is haiku and he only has four fingers. He prefers to either slice his opponents in half or blow their minds with a sniper rifle. His special ability is called Deception, sending a hologram of himself to trick enemies while he himself is cloaked and moves for the kill. He carries kunai or throwing knives that explode into random elements while not breaking Deception, which deactivates when he attacks. So if you come to face Zer0, whether from afar or close combat… you're screwed. Zer0 is one of Pandora's biggest badasses of all time… and can never resist a challenge.


	2. Chapter 2: The Others

Wow… popular. Anyway, keep an eye out on Saturdays because that will be my update day.

Chapter 2: The Others

Blake woke up in a bed inside of the inn that resided within the town. She sat up to see that she wasn't alone in the room. A woman with blue hair in a yellow body suit with black pants sat in a chair reading a book. Her suit had one sleeve that covered her right arm and her left arm was covered in strange blue tattoos. Her azure eyes widened as she read the book and Blake realized that it was her book, _Ninjas of Love_.

"How old are you?" The woman questioned. Blake sat on the edge of her bed and replied "Seventeen. Why?"

"This book just seems a little… graphic. I was just wondering, but I'm not one to judge."

"Who are you?"

The woman closed the book and looked at her with a smile. "I am Maya the Siren." She replied. "And you are?" Blake responded "Blake Belladonna. Where did you come from? I don't remember seeing you in town before."

"That's because I arrived during the storm last night, like your new friend Zer0."

"You know Zer0?"

"I do, we're… friends."

Blake got off of the bed and pulled a chair up next to Maya. The tone in her voice made Blake think that there was something going on between the two. "Why did you pause before calling him a friend? If I'm not prying." Blake questioned. "Well, it seems a little strange that I'm telling you this when I literally just met you, but I really like Zer0." Maya admitted. Blake observed Maya run her bare fingertips across the word '_Love_' on the book.

"She's in love with the guy." Blake couldn't help but think. She proclaimed "So have you tried asking him out? I know I'm not really the one for relationship advice, but that seems like a good start." Maya laughed and replied "I've tried many times, but I just keep losing my nerve. That helmet is just so imposing and the mystery beneath it just… it makes me nervous."

"You mean you haven't seen him without his helmet?"

"No one has. It's what makes Zer0, well, Zer0."

Blake felt her eyebrow raise as she wondered how this woman could fall for a man but never see his face. The door opened and a man who looked like he had been up all night walked in. His brown short sleeved shirt was covered in blood and his green pants looked the same. His short brown hair was tossed around and there were dark circles under his green eyes. The man wore a back pack with a small video camera on his shoulder.

"Tag out. It's your shift Maya." The man yawned as he laid in the bed Blake had previously occupied. "Fine, Blake this is Axton the Commando. Axton this is Blake Belladonna." Maya introduced. "Hey." Axton responded. "How's it going?" He was laying down with his back to them so it was obvious he didn't want to talk. May got up and handed back Blake's book before walking out.

Blake asked "Still awake Axton?" He groaned from the bed "Sadly."

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure."

"Is there something between Maya and Zer0?"

"Please don't tell me that you've fallen for the freak."

"No, I'm just trying to gather as much information as I can."

"Whatever, there isn't anything between them. Maya has giant crush on Zer0, but Zer0 is an assassin. Wants to stay as distant as possible. Guy probably isn't even human."

"What do you mean he isn't human?"

"You didn't notice that he only has four finger? Well he does. Next question."

"How many of you are there?"

"Four. You've met me, Maya and Zer0. You just need to meet Salvador, the Gunzerker."

"What's a Gunzerker?"

"He can duel wield any two weapons. Guy is a real psycho, but he's our psycho."

Blake was about to ask another question when there was a ringing sound. "You've got to be kidding me!" Axton groaned as he pulled out something from his side. It looked like a scroll, only blockier and put together with duct tape. "What is it Sal?" Axton questioned. A gruff voice proclaimed "The monsters are running away! It's bullshit! The bandits on Pandora never ran away!"

"Seriously? Lame. Whatever, just do what the red riding hood says."

Blake questioned "Red riding hood? Do you mean Ruby?" Axton put his device on his side and replied "Oh yeah, that's her name."

"Why did you call her red riding hood?"

"The red hood. It's a children's story back home."

"Okay."

Blake's scroll started to go off and she opened it to see a man that looked like he'd been through hell. He had spikey blue hair that connected with a blue beard that was just as spikey. "Holy cow!" The man shouted. "I see other people through this! That is awesome!" Blake sighed "I'm guessing you're Salvador."

"Si senora! And you must be Blake! The girl Zer0 rescued last night! He's been asking about you."

"_Why would he be asking about me?" _Blake thought. She shook her head and asked "So why have you called?" Salvador answered "Senora Ruby wants everyone to meet up in front of the inn. She says that the mission is over since the monsters ran away."

"Alright. We'll meet you outside."

She hung up her scroll and proclaimed "We're leaving and it appear that you are coming with us." She looked to the bed to see Axton was out cold. She walked over to him and started pushing on his shoulder, urging "Wake up Axton. Wake up!" He started snoring and Blake pinched his nose. He tried to take a breath, but started coughing "Alright! I'm up! Geez."

He got out of the bed and followed Blake out of the inn. Weiss, Yang and Maya were already waiting outside and talking. "Hey there Blakey!" Yang greeted. "How are you feeling?" Blake answered "Fine. Why are you asking?"

"The Zer0 guy said you had some pretty serious wounds. He also said after he gave you a health vial that your wounds healed pretty quickly."

"Yeah, it was probably the combination of my aura and the stuff he gave me."

"What is this aura?" She heard Zer0 question. Blake turned around and was nearly face to face with the assassin. She could see her reflection in his helmet and she was a little red. He tilted his head to the side and took her hand. He lightly dragged his fingertips across the area where her wound was. "That is very impressive. A healing factor." He finished as he let her go.

He leaned closer to her and whispered out of haiku "Plus soft skin." She looked at him as he walked to the others. _"Was he just hitting on me?"_ Blake thought. _"I probably just misheard him." _ She shook her head to clear the thoughts as she say Ruby and the man she believed was Salvador walking over to them. "Hola everybody!" Salvador shouted. "Is this all of us?"

Ruby looked around at everyone and proclaimed "Yep! Everyone is here! Let's get to the airship pick up point and head back to Beacon." Everyone agreed and followed Ruby to the pick-up point.

Author Note! (Insert crazy guitar solo) Heyo! Chief here just telling you to let me know what you guys thin with a review, PM or any other method of contact for any questions, comments, concerns, bitches, gripes or complaints.


	3. Chapter 3: Explanations

It's Saturday, you know what that means? NEW CHAPTER! (Guitar solo)

Chapter 3: Explanations

Blake sat with everyone as they waited for the airship to come get them. She looked over the group of people who called themselves Vault Hunters. "So why do you call yourselves that?" Ruby questioned as she polished Crescent Rose. "Because we all came to Pandora to look for the Vault." Axton answered. "I started looking for it for the glory." Maya added "I started looking to find out about my Siren heritage."

"I started looking because it sounded like fun!" Salvador cheered. "I sought a challenge." Zer0 haikued. "The Vault, my next masterpiece. What a thrill it was." Blake raised her eyebrow and asked "You were looking for a challenge?" Axton answered for Zer0 "Yeah, always looking for someone to challenge him." Maya suggested "Maybe there will be someone to challenge you at Beacon."

"Doubtful." Zer0 responded. Blake thought _"Does he seriously think that highly of himself that no one could beat him?" _ Yang questioned "So what is Pandora like? Haven't really heard of it." Axton explained "It's a bandit planet, full of outlaws, murderers and outcasts. All of us included. I'm wanted for war crimes, Zer0 for political assassinations, Maya just for being a siren, and Salvador for… well… a lot. Each of us have a bounty on our heads worth millions." Weiss questioned "So you've killed people?"

"Oh yeah. On Pandora, its kill or be killed… simple as that."

"Do you feel anything when you kill another human being?"

"Killing a bandit, not a thing other than relief. If you want to know about killing in cold blood, just ask Zer0."

Everyone looked at Zer0, who was sitting on a rick with his legs crossed. "Killing is an art." Zer0 explained. "A masterpiece to be made, and I am Rembrandt." The group was silent as Blake thought _"This guy is cold. Able to just kill and think of it as art." _She broke the silence and asked "So you don't feel anything when you kill a man?" Zer0 looked to her, she could feel his eyes on her and her veins turned to ice as he responded "No."

The group became awkwardly silent after Zer0's comment. "So how did all of you get here?" Yang questioned, attempting to break the silence. "Show 'em Sal!" Axton proclaimed. Salvador put a bag on the ground and pulled out some stone artifact. It had a cone shape with strange purple markings on it. "This, our new friends, is the Vault Key!" Salvador explained. "This little beauty can open any Vault!" Weiss proclaimed as she closely inspected the key "Amazing. It can open any of these Vaults?"

"Si, but only once every two hundred years, but can be charged with an element found on Pandora called Eridium!"

"Amazing. Such power in a small piece of stone."

Ruby proclaimed "It doesn't sound much different from Dust." Maya questioned "What is Dust?" Weiss pulled out her pamphlet about Dust and explained "Dust is a natural resource that can be refined into crystals or remain in a powder state. It is used as a power source but can also be used as a weapon." Axton agreed "Red's right. Sounds just like Eridium." Ruby snapped "My name is Ruby, not Red."

"Sorry, you just remind me of a character from a children's book."

"What of this aura?" Zer0 finally. "Blake had mentioned it before. Explain it to us." Blake stepped up and explained "Aura is the manifestation of one's soul. It has special capabilities like protecting a person from harm and healing injuries. How the aura acts depends on the person."

"Power of the soul."

"It is very powerful. It is what separates us from the Grimm of this world."

Maya added "Like how sanity separates us from bandits on Pandora." Sal questioned "What about Krieg? He's out of his mind, but he is no bandit."

"Right. I nearly forgot about him. How do you think everyone is holding up right now?"

Yang questioned "Who's Krieg?" Axton answered "Krieg is a friend of ours. He's a psycho, guy who is out of his mind. Likes to scream about murder, blood and meat. Cool guy when you get to know him."

"Did you guys leave anyone else behind when you came here?"

"Yeah, there's Gaige the Mechromancer. She can summon this giant robot with her robotic arm. She is borderline psycho, but a good girl. Then there's Lilith, a Siren like Maya. Mordecai, our alcoholic hunter and Brick, the bandit berserker. There are a bunch of other friends we left behind."

Ruby questioned "Do you think they're worried about you?" Maya chuckled "Probably not. They know that we can handle whatever situation we get into." Axton laughed "Yeah, but I bet Gaige is freaking out that Zer0 isn't with her." Sal and Axton laughed while Blake noticed Maya had a scowl on her face. Weiss questioned "What does that mean?"

"Gaige has a crush on the assassin. Ain't that right Zer0?"

Everyone turned to Zer0, whose helmet remained dark. "I don't think Gaige is right for Zer0." Maya proclaimed as she crossed her arms. "That's because you want Zer0." Sal chuckled. Maya immediately turned red and looked to the ground, making everyone laugh. Blake looked over at Zer0, who simply sat on his rock with his arms crossed.

"What?" Zer0 spoke. "Excuse me?" Blake responded.

"You were just staring. What exactly do you want? You will answer me."

"I was just thinking that there is a lot to you that no one knows. Would you care to share?"

"No."

The rest of the Vault Hunters laughed hysterically and Axton managed to get out "Man! Did you seriously think you could get Zer0 to open up to you?" Maya chuckled "We've known Zer0 for a while and still know nothing about him." They stopped laughing their asses off, but continued to snicker to themselves. Blake rolled her eyes and heard Zer0 proclaim "Share your secrets Blake, and I may share mine with you. Do we have a deal?" She looked at Zer0 with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean my secrets?" Blake questioned. Zer0's speed astonished her, since he immediately shot over to her and now stood over her. "The secrets you hide." Zer0 explained. "You hold many within you. I'll talk when you do." Blake stared up into the black visor with a shocked expression. Everything was quiet until Ruby pointed out "Guys, our airship is here."

Everyone looked up to see the airship starting to land. Once the ship landed, everyone climbed aboard. Blake couldn't help but think _"What does he mean by my secrets? He couldn't possibly know about me being a Faunus or that I was a part of the White Fang… could he?"_

Author's Note: (Insert crazy guitar solo intro) BLAM! Baby mama drama up in here, not really. But regardless, could Zer0 really know Blake's secrets already? Why did the Vault Key transport them to Vytal? What will happen when our vault hunting heroes reach Beacon? Stay tuned and find out! Also, PM or review what y'all think about the chapter or any questions you may have. I love hearing what you guys think XD.

-Chief


	4. Chapter 4: Airship

Bonus Chapter! Due to my day off for the holiday, I decided to give you guys a little extra. This may answer any questions you may have regarding anything.

Chapter 4: Airship

Zer0 was sleeping in one of the chairs on the ship, but it was far from a peaceful sleep. He was having a nightmare from his past, like he usually did. He was in a lab and it was being raided by the Crimson Lance. They were killing anyone they could see and Zer0 was slicing any of the soldiers that crossed his path. He turned a corner in the white hall and nearly ran into a blonde haired woman.

She was just as tall as he was, but she had five fingers. "We need to get out of here!" She shouted. "Where is Hansen?" Zer0 questioned.

"What does it matter? We need to go Zer0!"

"It matters to me F0ur! Where is she?"

Four sighed and proclaimed "Last I saw she was helping out Nin3 who was hurt. They are in the infirmary." Zer0 nodded and ran towards the infirmary. He was about to run past the observing window when a man jumped through it. He stood up and Zer0 recognized him as Nin3. His brown hair was covered in blood and half his face was bandaged.

He stood up and pushed Zer0 away from the window, which was immediately shot out by assault rifles. Zer0 threw Nin3 off of him and ran to the window to see four Crimson Lance with rifles pointed at a woman in a lab coat. She looked at him and shouted "Zer0! Run!" Zer0 was about to jump through the window when Nin3 grabbed him.

"NO!" Zer0 shouted. "Hansen!" The first soldier fired and Zer0 shot out of his dream. He looked around to see that it was still dark out and that he didn't wake anyone else. He looked to his right to see Maya asleep with her head resting on her shoulder. He carefully slid her to the side so he wasn't supporting her.

He stood up and went to the large window that overlooked the night sky. "Why am I plagued by these nightmares?" Zer0 sighed. "Can't sleep?" He heard Blake question. He turned around to see Blake take a spot next to him by the window. "Not really." Zer0 answered as he stared out the window.

"Who's Hansen?"

"What?"

"You muttered that name in your sleep. Who are they?"

Zer0 pondered telling her, since he hadn't told anyone anything about his past. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Blake exclaimed after the long silence. "It's okay." Zer0 sighed "Hansen was someone very close to me. She's gone now."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

He felt her put a hand on his arm and she proclaimed "If you ever want to talk, you can talk to me." Zer0 looked at the amber eyed woman and a ": )" holo popped onto his helmet. She smiled and Zer0 felt something he hadn't felt in a long time; like he could trust her. He had worked with the other Vault Hunters for quite some time, but he still was unsure of being able to trust them. Blake was different though, Zer0 felt that he could trust her.

Maybe it was because she held just as many secrets as he did. He just couldn't tell the reason, all he knew was that he could trust her. He looked back out the window and stared at the stars as they passed by. "Can I ask you a question?" Blake asked. "Sure." Zer0 responded.

"Earlier, when you were inspecting my arm. You said I had soft skin."

"I did, and you do."

Zer0 immediately reached up and placed his palm on her cheek, gently sliding his thumb back and forth. His suit was strong, but also very thin and able to feel. He could see her other cheek was turning red as she questioned "Were… were you flirting with me?" Zer0 chuckled "I guess you could say I was. I'm not the best with interacting with people." She looked away and Zer0 took his hand off of her cheek.

"What about Maya? Aren't you two… together?"

"Maya and I? No, even though she wants us to be together. She's a sweet girl, but not really my type."

"Okay. I just thought it was a little strange that you would flirt with me when you are with someone else."

Zer0 smiled beneath his helmet as he proclaimed "Are you joining the group of women who want to date me?" She looked over at him with a smile and pink cheeks. "I'm going back to bed." She proclaimed. "Goodnight Zer0." He replied "Goodnight Blake." She returned to her seat and laid back.

Zer0 continued to stare out the window and process what just happened. _"Did that really just happen?"_ Zer0 thought. _"Was I really just interacting with another person? Sharing thoughts… revealing something about my past? What is going on?"_ Zer0 shook his head and returned to his seat to see Blake was already sleeping soundly. He put Maya back in her original position so no one would assume anything happened. He laid his head back, but he didn't fall asleep. He never did after he had a nightmare, just something that happened.

He sat there with his thoughts, eyes occasionally lowering to Blake's level and watching her for a moment. The woman captivated him for some odd reason. It was another thing that he couldn't place about her, unlike the other three in her group. Ruby was clearly the leader of the group, even though Weiss seemed to disagree with it. Ruby was gifted with amazing speed from what he observed.

Ruby seemed to be able to hold her own in a fight, but still maintained a childish nature. Weiss was almost the exact opposite to Ruby. She acted more mature than all of the others, even though Zer0 was sure that she wasn't. She gave off a feeling of superiority that Zer0 just wanted to knock down a peg. Then there was Yang, the so called blonde brawler.

He hadn't seen her fighting skills, but the name and her weapons told him that she solved her problems with her fists. Then there was Blake, the girl surrounded by mystery. Something about her made Zer0 want to know more. He sighed and thought _"I will learn her secrets."_


	5. Chapter 5: Beacon

Guess what day it is! Guess what day it is. It's Saturday! That means… NEW CHAPTER (insert crazy guitar solo).

Chapter 5: Beacon

The airship landed at the school referred to as Beacon. From what Zer0 gathered from talking with Team RWBY and what he was able to research it was a school to train people how to fight the monsters they had encountered. "I'll take you guys to Professor Ozpin." Ruby proclaimed as she skipped off the airship. "I'm sure he'll want to talk to all of you." The Vault Hunters all shrugged and followed the skipping girl. _"This girl has too much energy for her own good." _Zer0 thought as they entered the school, which he thought was more like a castle.

They walked into a large corridor when Ruby asked "So what do you guys do for fun on Pandora?" Axton answered "Drink." Salvador answered "Get into fights." Maya answered "I like to read." Zer0 simply stated "Kill."

Ruby thought for a moment and replied "Well Yang knows all the good party spots, so I would talk to her about drinking. There's a training arena, Sal can work with me and Weiss since we're there a lot. We have a huge library Maya. You can talk with Blake since she read a lot. Then Zer0, you can head out to the Forest of Forever Fall. Tons of monsters out there you can kill." Zer0 questioned "Will the beasts be strong? I desire a challenge. I must test my skill."

"There are some pretty strong monsters out there. Nevermores, Deathstalkers, and King Taijitu are seen rarely there. I'm sure one of those should put up a decent fight for you."

This pleased Zer0 to know that there were possible challenges in this world. Ruby led them to a door labelled "Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon" and she knocked on the door. "Enter." A male voice proclaimed. She opened the door and the Vault Hunters filed in after her. It was a very simple office with a single window on the back wall.

Two bookshelves occupied the left wall and a small stand stood alone on the right. There was a desk with two chairs in front of it, a computer, and a man with white hair. He wore a black suit jacket over a black vest with a green scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore dark glasses that sat almost on the end of his nose and sipped from a mug. "Welcome back Mrs. Rose. Did the mission go smoothly?" He asked without looking away from the computer.

"Yes sir, Professor Ozpin." Ruby answered. "I brought the Vault Hunters here like you asked."

"Vault Hunters? Is that what they refer to themselves as?"

"Yes sir. They will be able to explain it better than I can."

"Very well. You may go now Mrs. Rose."

Ruby did a small curtsy and replied "Thank you Professor Ozpin." She turned and walked out of the office, leaving the Vault Hunters alone with the headmaster of the school. Ozpin sipped from his mug and exclaimed "You may take a seat. I will not bite." Maya and Axton sat down while Zer0 and Salvador remained standing. "So where exactly are you from?" Ozpin questioned. "I ask this because it is obvious you are not from around here."

"We are from a planet called Pandora." Axton answered. "A borderland planet for criminals, murderers and outcasts."

"Hardly seems that way by how all of you present yourselves."

"Some do go to Pandora for a somewhat peaceful life. Away from the cities and control of corporations." Maya added. Ozpin looked at them with his brown eyes and questioned "Then if you are from a different planet, how did all of you end up here?" Salvador put his bag on the ground and pulled out the Vault Key. "The Vault Key brought us here." Salvador answered. "There was a big flash when our friend tried to destroy it and we were dropped here during a storm." Ozpin sipped from his mug and exclaimed "Forgive me, but I never asked any of you for your names. I'll start, I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"I'm Axton, the Commando. Ten years Dahl military experience and sentenced to death for war crimes."

"Maya, the Siren. One of six mystical women in the galaxy."

"Salvador, the Gunzerker. Pandora born and damn proud of it!"

"My name is Zer0. Greatest assassin ever. The haiku hit man."

Ozpin's eyes travelled from each person as they introduced themselves. He set his mug down and questioned "Do any of you know of a way to return to your planet?" Maya answered "We tried calling our friends using out communicators, but there's nothing but static."

"So all of you are unfortunately stuck here, am I correct?"

"Yes sir." Axton answered. Ozpin picked his mug back up and took a sip from it. "If I allow all of you to stay here," Ozpin proclaimed "will there be any problems?" The Vault Hunters looked at each other and Axton proclaimed "There shouldn't be. We know how to live in a civilized world, well, I can't be sure about Sal." Salvador punched Axton's arm and barked "Not cool pendejo!"

Axton and Maya laughed while Zer0 chuckled at the joke. "You are welcome to stay here under a few conditions." Ozpin proclaimed as the laughter stopped. "One, all of you will attend this school like everyone else. Two, if you remain here for one year I would employ you as instructors. Three, you will not harm any of the students here under no circumstances. Are these conditions acceptable?" Everyone agreed since the conditions seemed fair. "Excellent." Ozpin exclaimed. "If it may not be too much trouble, may I see the Vault Key?" Salvador handed him the Vault Key and inspected it like he was going to find something.

"I've seen these markings before." Ozpin declared. All of the Vault Hunters eyes widened and Zer0's helmet projected a "!". Axton asked "Where have you seen these markings before?"

"There is an exhibit at the Vale Museum with markings similar to this Vault Key. They believe that it was from a lost civilization. There may be a connection between this Vault Key and the lost civilization."

Axton turned to the group and asked "Do you think the Eridians were on this world?" Maya replied "If there are Vaults on other worlds, it isn't exactly impossible they haven't been here before." Ozpin questioned "Eridians? Who are they?"

"They are an ancient alien race that lived on Pandora, maybe even before humans. Very little is known about them other than they were a powerful race able to create interdimensional portals. All we know is from their ruins and the Vaults we find on Pandora."

"Interesting. What could these ruins hold on our planet? Regardless, you may go see the exhibit on your time. Right now, you will be assigned scrolls to communicate with other students and professors if it comes to that. You may wear you own attire when you are not in class and the school uniform when attending classes."

All of the Vault Hunters groaned at the thought of uniforms, but went along with it. They got their new clothes and their scroll and went to their assigned rooms. Axton used his scroll to unlock the door and they walked in. The room was small, but was still able to accommodate the Vault Hunters. There was a single window that occupied the center of the back wall and two beds on each side of the room.

There was a large dresser under the window and stands next to each bed. Zer0 simply dropped his clothes on his bed and sat down on it. He slipped into Deception and left the room through the open door to get some time to himself. He heard Maya shout as he reappeared "Damn it Zer0!" He used his scroll to navigate the school and found the library.

He wanted to find out as much as possible about this new world while he could. He grabbed a few history books and sat down at a table. He took the first book and started reading through it. One thing that he both liked and disliked about being an assassin was his ability to scan through things in seconds. It was good because he could process through information quickly, but he could never enjoy a book to its full extent.

He finished his first book that detailed an event called the Human- Faunus War and pondered it for a moment. "Humanoid beings with animal features and abilities. How intriguing. Superior strength, superior speed, enhanced reaction time, night vision." Zer0 muttered to himself. "Not so different from me and my fellow assassins." He sighed and thought "_I wonder what they are up to right now?" _He returned to his research and read through a book on the beginnings of humans. He read for a moment until the door opened up to reveal Weiss and Ruby with books in their arms.

"Hey there Zer0!" Ruby cheered as she waved. Zer0 waved back and returned to his reading. The sounds of chairs dragging filled his ears and he looked up to see Ruby and Weiss sitting across from him. "What do you want?" He grumbled as he looked back down. "You looked lonely," Ruby proclaimed "so I suggested we just sit at the same table. Plus you have all the books for tomorrow's history test on the Human- Faunus War."

"Why would there be war? Faunus are very useful. They're superior."

"Well, some people think of them as freaks for being part animal. That they are beneath normal people."

"Normal is all wrong. Normality is not true. All are just their own."

"What?"

Weiss interpreted "I think he's saying that there is no such thing as normal. Everyone is different in their own way." Zer0 nodded and closed his book. "We are each our own. Being different is better. That is just my way."

"Indeed. The only problem I have is the White Fang."

A "?" appeared on his helmet and caused them both to jump. "Who are the White Fang?" Zer0 questioned. "Never heard of them before. Are they assassins?" The two sat back down and Weiss explained "Yes, and thieves and criminals." Ruby shot her a dirty look and added "They are a group of Faunus fighting for equal rights for Faunus. The war may have ended but discrimination and prejudice against Faunus still remain. The White Fang fight for equality, just not in the best of ways."

"They do it through vandalism, burglary, murder, and any other way they can think of."

Zer0 scratched his chin and thought _"This might be something for me then. I wonder if there are any good contracts" _He shook his head and thought "_Focus on how to get home first." _He stood up and proclaimed "I will be going. I'll see you both tomorrow. Have a good night then." Ruby proclaimed "See you tomorrow Zer0." Weiss simply nodded and returned to her book.

Zer0 walked out of the library and walked towards his room. He turned a corner and nearly ran into Professor Ozpin. "Sorry sir." Zer0 stated as he tried to walk around the headmaster. "I would like a moment of your time." Ozpin proclaimed as he blocked Zer0's path. "There is something I need to discuss with you." Zer0 looked to Professor Ozpin with a "?" holo and replied "What is it sir?"

"You advertise yourself as an assassin, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I will make this very clear. This is a school to teach others on how to fight monsters, not your new personal hunting ground. If any of my students turn up dead in a way other than monsters, you will be the first to be put under investigation. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal sir."

"Excellent. Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Zer0."

Ozpin stepped around Zer0 and walked out of sight. Zer0 shrugged it off and thought _"I guess I'll just have to be careful when it comes to finding my challenge." _He returned to his room and attempted to figure out how to open the door. "I should have paid attention when Axton did this." Zer0 grumbled as he fiddled with his scroll. "Having a bit of trouble?" He heard Blake question.

He looked to his left to see Blake walk out of her room. "A bit." He replied as he tried something else. "Here. Let me show you." She laughed as she took the scroll from him. She hit a few buttons and held the scroll up to the pad on the side of the door. The door unlocked and Blake proclaimed "There. You just hold it up to the pad and it unlocks the door." Blake explained.

"Thank you."

"Also I put my scroll code in yours, so now we can talk or text whenever."

": )"

"I thought you would like that. See you around."

She walked past him and he walked into his room. He shut the door behind him and noticed a note on his nightstand. It read "Went to get something to eat. Might bring you something or not. We'll see. - Maya." Zer0 rolled his eyes under his helmet and threw the note away. He put his uniforms away and laid on his bed.

He thought about falling asleep until there was a beeping sound from his scroll. He picked it and looked to see it was Blake sending him a text. "Hey." She wrote. He smiled and texted back "Hey." The two seemed to talk forever until his friends walked in.

He quickly texted "Calling it a night. See you tomorrow" and quickly shut his scroll. "Who were you talking to?" Axton laughed as he jumped into his own bed. Zer0 didn't respond, he just rolled so his back was to Axton. He was hoping that he would be left alone until he heard Axton proclaim "What do we have here? Talking to Blake are we? Let's see what you're talking about with her." Zer0 quickly shot out of his bed and snatched his scroll back from Axton.

"Sending dirty messages with her are you?" Axton poked at. "Yang told us about her porno books." Zer0 replied "No." He really wasn't, he was just talking to her.

"Whatever bro. Night."

Axton rolled over and almost immediately started snoring. Zer0 laid back in his bed and heard Salvador start snoring. "Hey Zer0." He heard Maya whisper. "Can I ask you something?" Zer0 sighed and replied "Sure."

"Were you really sending dirty messages?"

"What? No! I just met her! Why would I send her dirty messages?"

"I don't know. I was just asking. Goodnight Zer0."

"Goodnight Maya."

Zer0 closed his eyes and let sleep take over.


	6. Chapter 6: Starting School

Its Hump day! Just a quick note, update days will be Wednesday and Saturday now. Just to keep me busy. Anyway… NEW CHAPTER!

Chapter 6: Starting school

Zer0 woke up to his helmet alarm clock and sat up to see everyone else still asleep. He gathered his materials for the day and stepped into the shower. He took off his suit and helmet and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water rush over him. He stood in the water and enjoyed it since hot water was a dream at best on Pandora. He cleaned himself off and stepped out of the shower.

He put on his uniform and stepped out with his helmet on. Everyone else was still asleep and he shook his head. _"Did they forget we start attending classes today?" _He thought as he walked over to Axton's side. He looked on Axton's nightstand to see his scroll open with an alarm set for an hour later. Zer0 shrugged and walked out with no real destination in mind.

His stomach growled and he chuckled to himself "Damn I'm hungry. I should probably get something to eat." He followed his scroll to the dining hall and found it largely deserted. There were a few students, but not many. He grabbed a tray and walked along the buffet line but didn't grab anything. He just stared at the strange assortment of foods that was laid before him.

He simply stood there until a quiet voice exclaimed "A… are you okay?" He looked to his left and the first thing he saw were a pair of rabbit ears. A "?" appeared on his helmet as he looked down to see a small girl. She jumped a little when his holo popped up but he replied "Not sure what to eat. I don't know what these are. I am just confused." She took a step towards him and questioned "Are you one of the aliens?"

"Aliens?"

"Yeah. The people from another planet."

Zer0 chuckled a bit at the thought of them beings aliens since this world was alien to them. "Yes. I am Zer0." The rabbit girl introduced "Velvet Scarlatina."

"Nice to meet you ma'am."

"N-nice to m-meet you too. May I s-suggest pancakes?"

"?"

"These."

She pointed to the round brown disks and Zer0 put a few on his plate. He walked with Velvet to a table and sat down across from her. "You don't have to sit with me." Velvet exclaimed. "But I chose to." Zer0 proclaimed.

"Thank you. Not many want to sit with a Faunus freak."

"You are not a freak. You are simply different. Nothing wrong with you."

"Thank you. That's actually the nicest thing anyone has said to me since I've been here."

"That is simply wrong. You are a very sweet girl. You helped me before."

Velvet turned a little pink and Zer0 thought _"Fuck. I can't have another girl trying to date me. What the hell is wrong with me?"_ He stared down at his pancakes without a clue on how to eat them. "You cut them into smaller pieces." Velvet whispered to him, stifling a giggle. "You will probably want syrup too." She got up and Zer0 pulled out one of his kunai since he didn't grab any kind of silverware. He cut his food into several smaller bits as Velvet returned with a bottle holding a brown liquid.

"I'm going to assume you don't know how syrup works either." Velvet giggled as she poured the syrup over his pancakes. She put the bottle down and started eating her food, which looked like a blob of something yellow. He slid his helmet up a bit so he could start eating. He jabbed a small piece with his kunai and nervously put it in his mouth. The flavors just popped in his mouth since there was nothing like this on Pandora.

The syrup was sweet and delicious and the pancakes were like fluff in his mouth. He broke his speech pattern for a moment and gasped "Oh my god! This is delicious!" Velvet laughed "Never had pancakes and syrup before?"

"No! I can't believe I've never tried this before!"

He looked at Velvet who was holding her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "Oh sure. Laugh at the guy who has never tried pancakes before." Zer0 grumbled as he continued eating. His food was gone in a few minutes while Velvet was still eating. He slipped his helmet down as Velvet questioned "Why do you wear your helmet all the time?" Zer0 answered in his haiku fashion "It hides my true self. Others do not need to see, what lies beneath it."

"Okay. I was just curious." Velvet responded as she continued eating. "What do we have here?" A brutish voice exclaimed. "Looks like the freak has made a new friend." Zer0 saw four guys walk over to them, the big brown haired one with the smug look on his face seeming to be the leader. The surrounded Velvet and the big one proclaimed "Morning freak. Decided to cut these stupid things off yet?" He grabbed one of her ears and pulled, causing her to yelp "Please Cardin! Don't!"

Zer0 reacted with his usual lightning speed and whipped out his Rex (a big ass revolver), placing it on Cardin's forehead. "Let Velvet go right now, or I will blow your brains out. Your move now Cardin." Cardin let her go with a terrified look and stuttered "Wha… why do you have a gun? This is a school!"

"Yes, it is a school. Not a place for bullying. Now get lost loser."

Cardin back away with the rest of his buddies as Zer0 held his sights on him the entire time. Once they were an acceptable distance away, Zer0 put his revolver back and sat back down. "Thank you." Velvet sniffed, obviously holding back tears. "No one has really stood up to them before about picking on me." Zer0 grumbled "I should have shot him. No one would have missed that ass. I doubt he'll live long."

"There's no need to kill him. I think you scared him enough."

Zer0 shrugged and continued to sit with Velvet. He then heard the boisterous voice of Yang as she declared "What a hero! Sticking up for little ol' Velvet back there." Zer0 responded "You saw that?"

"Yep. Just about everyone saw it and in about an hour everyone will know not to mess with you. Word travels fast around here."

Zer0 sighed and hung his head low, thinking _"At least my challenge will now present itself to me. After that little scene, only the bravest and the strongest will fight me."_ He brought his head back up to see that Yang took a seat to his left and Blake to his right. "It's really cool that you stood up for Velvet like that." Ruby proclaimed as she patted Velvet's shoulder. "Now maybe Cardin will watch his back." Zer0 shrugged again as Team RWBY talked and ate their breakfast. He really didn't have anything interesting to add to the conversation, so he sat there quietly.

He sat for a bit until he felt someone's arms wrap around his chest. "Good morning Zer0." Maya proclaimed as she hugged him. She sat down next to Ruby and exclaimed "Didn't feel like waiting for the rest of us Zer0?"

"Not really."

"I guess its justice since we didn't wait up on you yesterday. Sorry about that by the way."

"Not a problem."

"Hey Blake." Yang called. "Do you know what I just remembered?" Blake had her nose in a book with no title on the front and replied "What?"

"You never did thank Zer0 for saving your life."

Blake closed her book and agreed "You're right." She turned towards Zer0 and exclaimed "Thank you Zer0, for saving my life." Zer0 responded "It was no problem. I was glad to help you Blake. I…" He was cut off as Blake placed on hand on the left side of his helmet and she kissed the other side of his helmet. "I am in your debt Zer0. If you never need anything, just ask." She added as she reopened her book.

Zer0 looked around the group to see shocked faces, especially from Maya, whose face was a deep red. "What's that holo mean?" Weiss questioned with a confused look. She held out a mirror and Zer0 saw a projection he had never seen before; ####. "Oh my god!" Yang laughed. "I think he's blushing!" Zer0 blurted "What!? No!"

"You are! You're blushing!"

Zer0 felt his face grow hot and was seriously pissed that his helmet would display something like that. He panicked and slipped into Deception, quickly making his way out of the dining hall. He reappeared and sighed "Well that was horrid. I should make my way to class." He pulled out his scroll and followed it until he found the classroom. His first class was history with Professor Oobleck.

He found the classroom to find the only occupant was the professor, who didn't even look up from the work on his desk. Zer0 took a seat in the row second from the front and started to pull any materials he thought he would need. "I'm going to assume that you are one of the new students we will be receiving." Oobleck proclaimed without looking up from his work. "Yes sir." Zer0 responded.

"Well we will be testing today, so it is not necessary for you and your companions to join us."

"Can I take the test? I want to see what I know, from what I looked at."

"Very well. If you wish to take the test then you may."

Zer0 leaned back in his seat and smirked since he figured he would pass it. Others started to file into the classroom, but most of them sat as far away from Zer0 as possible. He chuckled to himself since he already had a dangerous reputation. Blake walked in and took a seat next to him without hesitation. "Sorry if I embarrassed you at breakfast." Blake apologized.

"It's fine." Zer0 replied as he put a hand on her shoulder. Another girl walked in and sat next to Blake. She had crimson hair and green eyes with a gold head dress. "Hey Pyrrha." Blake greeted. "Zer0, this is Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha extended a hand to him and exclaimed "It's a pleasure to meet you Zer0."

Zer0 shook her hand and replied "Nice to meet you too." Blake added "Just to let you know, Pyrrha is the four-time champ of the Mistral Tournament. Maybe she's the challenge you're looking for." Pyrrha questioned "What are you talking about?"

"Zer0's looking for someone to test his skills since he thinks he's so awesome."

Zer0 rolled his eyes under his helmet as Pyrrha exclaimed "Well I can assure that if we do meet in combat that I will not go easy on you." Zer0 smirked and thought _"She may just be the challenge I am looking for. I actually hope we do meet in combat." _The other Vault Hunters walked in and sat near Zer0. "What up lover boy." Axton laughed as he clapped Zer0 on the back. "Yang told us about you and Velvet getting friendly and you and Blake." Axton was about to sit down next to Zer0, probably to pick on him some more, but Maya shot into the seat as he pulled it out.

"Such a gentleman Axton." Maya proclaimed. "Why thank you." Axton rolled his eyes and took the seat next to Maya. Salvador sat on the end and seemed a little unhappy that he just barely was able to see over the desk. "Would you like me too…" Axton started. Salvador interrupted "Unless you want to see if the New-U stations work from out here you will not finish that statement."

Axton started laughing hysterically as Professor Oobleck approached the Vault Hunters. "As I told you companion, we are testing today so there is no need for you to join us." Oobleck explained. Axton cheered "Yeah! I'm out!" He walked out with his hands up in the air. Salvador followed Axton, shaking his head at the cheering soldier.

"Are you coming with us?" Maya questioned. "I'm to going to test." Zer0 responded.

"Alright. See you next class."

Maya left and Blake whispered to him "Are you sure you want to test?" Zer0 responded "I'm sure." Oobleck handed out the tests and Zer0 knew every answer from what he studied the day before. He was done within minutes. He handed his test to Oobleck, who exclaimed "Guessed on every question didn't you?" Zer0 exclaimed "No sir, just check."

Oobleck looked over Zer0's test and exclaimed "Looks like I was wrong. Perfect score, well done." Zer0 did a small bow and headed for the doors. He walked out and thought _"Maybe I should wait up for Blake. I enjoy her presence, and Pyrrha too. She seems like a good fighter to win a tournament four times in a row." _He leaned against the wall and waited for the two girls. They both walked out a little while after he did and they saw him waiting for them.

"Where you waiting on us?" Blake questioned as they started walking to their next class. "I was." Zer0 replied with a ": )" holo on his helmet. "I enjoy your presence Blake." Blake blushed a little as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "You didn't say that in haiku." Blake pointed out. Zer0 thought about what he said and laughed "You're right I didn't. I need to be more careful, so I won't screw up."

"Indeed you do. I'm guessing you were waiting on Pyrrha too so you can learn more about her."

"You know me so well."

All of them laughed as they entered Professor Port's classroom. Maya looked back at the trio with a raised eyebrow. Zer0 dismissed it as he sat with Pyrrha and Blake as they sat next to a blonde haired guy. "This is my team leader, Jaune Arc." Pyrrha introduced. "Jaune, this is Zer0." Zer0 extended his hand and exclaimed "Greetings." Jaune shook his hand and exclaimed "Aren't you the guy that threatened Cardin at gun point?"

"Indeed I am."

"Nice going man. Guy's a real bully."

Zer0 leaned back in his chair seeing the two sides of his reputation; a killer and a hero. Professor Port started talking, but it was just some story about him as a young hunter. Zer0 felt himself start to nod off when Blake nudged him with her elbow. "Stay awake Zer0." Blake quietly laughed. Zer0 sat up straight in an attempt to stay awake.

"Now then, let us get to today's lesson!" Professor Port declared. "Today we will head into the Emerald Forest to test your teamwork skills. A single team will go out to see how they work together in a hostile environment. The team that shall be observed while the rest of us remain here will be our new arrivals, the Vault Hunters!" Zer0 smiled and thought _"Good. My blade has been itching for a kill."_


	7. Chapter 7: Emerald Forest Pt 1

Chapter 7: Emerald Forest Pt. 1

Zer0 and the other Vault Hunters followed Professor Port to a ridge that overlooked a lush green forest. Zer0 was a little amazed at the natural beauty that this world held. Since Pandora was a dying wasteland, very few places held beauty such as this. "Please take a spot on one of the stone slabs before you." Professor Port exclaimed. Zer0 looked to the ground to see the slabs Port spoke of and took his place at the far end.

"I will now leave all of you to Professor Ozpin to explain why all of you are here." Port proclaimed as he walked away. Ozpin walked into their view and Zer0 thought _"Was he following us the whole time? If he was, how come I couldn't pick him up on my helmet?"_ Ozpin stood in front of them and sipped from his mug. "All of you are here for a specific reason." Ozpin started after a moment of silence. "You will be going through the initiation process that all students go through when attending this school." Axton raised his hand and Ozpin exclaimed "Yes Axton?"

"What exactly are we going to be doing?" Axton questioned as he lowered his hand.

"A very good question. Behind me is the Emerald Forest, full of monsters and other dangers. You will venture into this forest in search of a ruin. There you will find relics. You will take a relic and return it to the Cliffside here. We would form teams by having you work with the first person you make eye contact with, but all of you are already a team. This is to simply show us your combat capabilities."

"I have another question. How are we getting into the forest? Are we climbing?"

"No. You will be falling."

At that moment the slab Zer0 was standing on catapulted him into the air, sending him flying towards the forest. He was caught off guard and flailed in the air to regain control, which he did within seconds. He fell through the air with his arms spread out to try and slow his fall. The trees were approaching fast, but he had no concern since he had jumped from larger heights. He slipped through the tree tops and rolled as he hit the ground, immediately jumping to his feet.

He looked around and listened to the sounds of the forest… and the sounds of the others shouting in joy of the free fall. He shook his head and started walking deeper into the forest, hoping something would attack him. He got bored quickly and started banging his katana on the trees in an attempt to draw attention to himself. He did this for a few minutes until he heard more footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder and knew a ": )" appeared on his helmet as he saw three large Beowolves emerge from the bushes behind him.

"Come at me monsters." Zer0 declared as he turned with his blade drawn. "Fight me with all of your might. Give me a challenge." The first Beowolf charged him with its claws ready. Zer0 knew his helmet still had the ": )" holo on it as he charged the beast with his katana ready for the kill.

O00000O00000O

Everyone observed from the main hall the video stream of the Vault Hunters going through the forest. Zer0 was the first to make contact with a few Beowolves and everyone watched with either enthusiasm, or fear. The first Beowolf went down with ease after the two crossed paths and the monster slid in half at the waist. Blake thought as she watched the assassin _"His skill is admirable. I wonder if he would be willing to share his techniques." _Zer0 stopped and pointed his blade at the other two Beowolves.

The two monsters looked at each other and turned like they were going to run away. Zer0 must have seen this because he pulled out his revolver and shot them both in the legs. They dropped to the ground and whimpered in pain as Zer0 walked over to them. One turned to slash at Zer0, but he quickly blasted the monster's head off. The other tried to swing, but Zer0 stabbed his blade into the Beowolf's hand and pinned it to the ground.

The Beowolf swung with its other hand, but Zer0 caught it and a ": )" appeared on his helmet. He pointed his revolver at the monster and shot it in the shoulder. "Cry for help monster." Zer0 declared as he shot the Beowolf again. "Bring more of your kind to me. Give me my challenge." The Beowolf didn't call for help, instead it just snapped at him. He shot the creature two more times and shouted "Call for help!"

"_Oh my god he's torturing the beast."_ Blake thought as she put her hand over her mouth. _"Sure, they're monsters but they don't deserve to be tortured. Is he really this obsessed with getting his challenge?" _Blake looked to everyone else to see the same looks of shock on their faces. "Wow." Yang gasped. "That's… something." Blake looked to Weiss, who seemed angry for some reason. "Just a killer." She grumbled. "No better than the monsters we hunt."

Ruby didn't say anything, she just stared at the large screen with wide eyes. Blake looked back at the screen to see the Beowolf collapse either from death or passing out. Zer0 pulled out his sword and shot the Beowolf in the head to be sure. _"Maybe Zer0 isn't the great guy I figured he was." _Blake thought. _"Maybe he's just a killer… an assassin."_ She looked up at the screen with Salvador's feed on it to see him in the tall grass… and he wasn't alone.

O00000O00000O

Salvador cursed himself for walking through the tall grass. "It'll be shorter!" Salvador angrily grumbled to himself. "You'll reach the ruins in no time!" Salvador spat in frustration as he walked through the grass. He sighed and stopped for a moment, but the sounds of movement didn't stop. Salvador turned around to look for anything that was following him. A large creature that looked like a black snake rose from the grass, tongue flicking out to taste Salvador's scent.

"Hola pendejo." Salvador greeted as he pulled out his Shredifier. Salvador heard more movement behind him and turned to see a large white snake emerge from the grass. "Two beasts," Salvador exclaimed with a grin as he pulled out a Bandit SMG, "two guns… Let's see who walks away." The black snake shot forwards first and Salvador jumped out of the way of the strike. He didn't start shooting the black snake, but turned to the white snake that didn't strike.

It was reared back like it was about to strike, but Salvador unleashed a wall of bullets and pain upon the beast. It made a screeching sound of pain as the bullets pierced its hide. Salvador laughed as the beast writhed in pain "What is the problema pendejo? Thought I was an easy snack? Wrong!" Sadly, he was distracted and didn't notice the black snake start to move back for a strike. The black snake shot forward and struck Salvador in the side, sending him flying.

Salvador may have been sent into the air, but he was far from done fighting. He continued shooting at the snakes as he tumbled through the air. He landed and rolled to his feet, still firing wildly at the snakes. He thought _"These pendejos are tough. Better to go at them at one time."_ He put his weapons at his side and proceeded to flip off the snakes, pissing them both off.

The white snake retreated into the grass while the black snake charged with all its might. Salvador charged the snake, still firing like mad and jumped over its strike. He ran along its back and put as many rounds as possible into the snake's back. He felt the creature crash to the ground and thought _"One down and one to go. Where did that white bastard go to?"_ He continued to run along the black snake's body and noticed that it started turning white.

He looked up to see the white snake in mid strike. _"So it was just one all along."_ Salvador thought as he practically ran into the snake's mouth.

O00000O00000O

Everyone watched as the gun toting midget practically jumped into the King Taijitu's mouth and it swallowed it him whole. "Well damn." Yang exclaimed as she scratched the back of her head. "There goes Sal." Weiss exclaimed "His tactics were almost nonexistent. His death was inevitable."

"Well geez Ice Queen. Could you be any colder? I mean we just watched a friend die."

Ruby asked "Do you guys really thinks he's…" She seemed to choke on the last word before finally finishing "Dead?" Blake put a hand on her shoulder and sighed "It seems like it. The others won't take this news any better." Everyone hung their heads low (except for Weiss) in respect of the fallen comrade until Weiss proclaimed "Something's happening!" They all looked up to see the white half start to thrash around, like it was in pain.

Something started to bulge near the back of the snake's head until it exploded in a shower of blood and bullets. The body dropped and Salvador stood in the hole with a black and red shotgun in his hands. "Conference Call pendejo! Look it up!" He cheered to the corpse. He hopped off the body and started to wipe the blood off of him. "Holy shit!" Yang cheered as she put her hands on the top of her head. "I cannot believe he just did that!"

"It was impressive." Weiss admitted. "I'll give him that, but it was reckless and unnecessary." Blake saw Yang roll her eyes as Ruby pointed out "Looks like Axton is having some trouble of his own." They looked to the screen with Axton on it. He was sprinting across and open field with a large black shadow over him.

O00000O00000O

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Axton cursed out loud as the black shadow over him got larger. "Shit!" Of all the things to land on in this forest, Axton had to land on a big ass bird with big ass claws. The shadow was right on top of him, so close he could feel the wind the bird's big ass wings created. He dropped to the ground in hope that the bird would pass right over him. His plan worked as he felt the bird's claws pass right over him, just barely missing him too.

He looked up to see the bird fly off and screech in agitation of its missed prey. Axton shot up and mocked "Ha! What now you dumbass bird! I've taken on a bird just as big as you, but that fucker had elemental powers! What do you got!? You ain't got shit!" The bird's path changed and it was heading back towards Axton. The bird threw its wings forward and Axton noticed something flying towards him. The first object landed next to him and he looked it over to see it was a giant feather.

"So that's what you got." Axton grumbled. "Would you look at the time? I gotta run." He immediately turned and started sprinting in the opposite direction of the bird as its feathers struck the ground and it proceeded to chase him. He could hear the bird's wing beats getting louder as he thought _"If I can make it to the trees, I might be safe."_ Those thoughts vanished as he felt the bird's claws grab him and throw him into the air. He went head over heels into the air, struggling to find his bearing.

He finally stopped spinning in the air to see the bird on the ground right below him. "No." Axton grumbled as he started to fall back to the ground and towards the bird. "No. No! No! NONONONONONONONO!" He panicked to think of something to save his ass last minute as he plunged towards the bird's gaping maw. He thought of one plan almost last minute and grabbed one of his Torgue MIRV grenades. He threw it as hard as he could and it flew straight into the bird's throat.

It closed its mouth and started to choke on the grenade as Axton slammed against the top of its head and fell to the ground. He immediately got up and sprinted away from the bird, thinking _"I don't want to be ANYWHERE near that thing when it goes off!"_ Axton was able to get a good distance away when he heard a muffled BOOM. He turned to see the bird looking straight up with smoke pouring out of its mouth. It started to sway and finally collapsed onto the ground into a lifeless heap.

"Boom! What now little bird?" Axton cheered. "Your guts are nothing but a smoothie now bitch! Ha!" Axton raise his arms in the air, but stopped cheering when he heard another bird squeal. He turned around to see another start flying towards him. "You've got to be kidding me!" Axton groaned. "I do not have time for this!" He tossed out his turrets, which immediately locked onto the bird that was heading straight for him. His turrets locked onto it as he pulled out his Norfleet rocket launcher.

"Chew 'em up ladies!" He shouted as his turrets let loose a rocket barrage at the bird. It squealed in pain as the rockets struck its wings, causing it to crash into the ground. Axton took careful aim as the bird slid towards him and he fired a single shot. The rocket flew towards the bird and practically obliterated its upper body. Axton jumped behind his shield to protect himself from the blood shower. His turret shields blocked the blood from hitting Axton, so he was all good.

He recalled his turrets and cheered "That! Is why you don't fuck with the Commando!" He put his rocket launcher and looked around. He must have spotted the ruins because he cheered "Would you look at that? I think I see the ruins! Almost done here!" He practically broke into a sprint towards the ruins.

O00000O00000O

Everyone stared at the screen as Axton made his way to the ruins. "Wow. He just took out two Nevermores single handed." Ruby gasped. "That's amazing." Blake added "He did say he was ex-military. He should be able to handle himself." Yang exclaimed "Those turrets are bad ass! Where do you think he got them?"

"Probably military issue."

"Still badass."

"At least he has some tactical skill." Weiss exclaimed. "But his attitude his deplorable." Blake rolled her eyes and thought _"Does she always have to be so damn critical?" _Blake pointed out "Looks like the last Vault Hunter to run into anything is Maya and she seems like she's already fighting some Ursi." Blake pointed to Maya's screen, who was in the middle of fighting two large Ursa.

O00000O00000O

Maya rolled out of the way of an Ursa swing and she put as many rounds into as she could. She emptied and entire clip into the Ursa, but her Hellfire didn't bring the beast down. She reloaded and noticed movement on her right. She shot back as the other Ursa charged her and she narrowly dodged it. She put more rounds into the Ursa and thankfully the beast was set ablaze.

The Ursa roared in pain and rolled around to try and snuff the flames out. _"At least these creatures burn like everything else."_ Maya thought as she reloaded her weapon again. The other Ursa ran around its burning companion and charged Maya. She quickly phase locked the brute and threw it into the forest. She could hear its roars of pain as it sailed through the trees.

The other Ursa had finally snuffed the flames out and got back to its feet. "So fire doesn't work on you." Maya grumbled. "Let's see how corrosion works." She put her Hellfire on her hip and pulled out her caustic Maliwan pistol. She pointed it at the Ursa and shot it three times. The corrosive effect didn't take hold and the Ursa charged her.

She rolled out of the way and let the beast crash into the tree behind her. She quickly reloaded her pistol and pointed it at the Ursa. She pulled the trigger and put another three rounds into the beast, but this time the corrosion took hold. The Ursa bellowed in pain as the beast began to corrode. The creature writhed in pain as it went through its slow and painful death.

She turned around to see the other Ursa with burn scars of every element standing behind her. She smirked as she felt her Siren powers power up, giving her the Blight Phoenix ability. The Ursa swung at her, but she stepped back and let it put itself into more pain as the Ursa caught on fire and was covered in acid. The beast took a few steps back and roared in pain before jumping on two feet. It looked like it was about to land on her, but she phase locked the beast with a smile.

She then threw the beast into the air and let it fly. She felt her wings dissipate and she looked around. "Which way was north again?" She asked out loud. "I think it was this way… or maybe it was this way. I'm lost." She paced back and forth and finally stopped to groan "Great. I'm lost now." She heard Zer0 proclaim "Need a hand?"

She turned around and was face to face with her assassin crush. She looked up into his helmet and saw her face a very red. She smiled and replied "I could use a little help." Zer0 chuckled "Always the damsel." She pushed his shoulder and giggled "Jerk."

"Oh, I am the jerk? Why don't I just leave you here? Let you find the way."

She wrapped her arms around him and exclaimed in an innocent voice "You wouldn't leave me behind, would you?" Zer0 sighed "No, I wouldn't."

"That's my good little assassin."

Maya bit her lip and thought _"The hell with it. Why not?"_ She lifted her head up a bit and planted a quick kiss on his visor. A "!" holo appeared on his helmet and Maya laughed "Now which way we need to go?" Zer0 shook his head and replied "North. This way." Maya chuckled since Zer0 seemed disoriented as he led the way through the forest.

O00000O00000O

Yang nudged Blake with her elbow and poked at "Looks like you got some competition for Zer0." Blake rolled her eyes and exclaimed "There is no competition…"

"So you don't think Maya could win Zer0 over?"

"Zer0 is all hers. I have no real interest in the assassin. He's a strong fighter, but there's something wrong with him mentally."

"Tell us what you really think."

Blake looked at Weiss and Ruby to see both of them looking back at her. Blake sighed "I just have a bad feeling about Zer0. If he's really an assassin… how long will it be before he start taking contracts on people?" The others got worried looks due to their own reasons. Blake and Weiss for the White Fang, Ruby for Torchwick and Yang for Junior. Each of them had messed with the wrong people… who's to say that they would seek Zer0 out to get rid of them?

Boom, a little bit of major drama at the end with who Zer0 really is… an assassin. Plus a good chunk of Vault Hunter badassery… it's a word. Anyway, review or PM thoughts, comments, or questions. And stop asking about Krieg and Gaige! They will appear in the story soon enough and it will be awesome.

-Chief


	8. Chapter 8: Emerald Forest Pt 2

Sorry for the no post Wednesday, work was chaotic and I couldn't find the time (or the energy) to write. So I'm giving you a Double Dose Sunday! Saturday was dedicated to my RWBY story, RWBY: Draco Hunt. If you haven't read it you should because it is awesome (or so I'm told). Ignoring my chatter… NEW CHAPTER (GUITAR SOLO INSERTED HERE)

Chapter 8: Emerald Forest Pt 2

Zer0 walked north with Maya practically on his heels as they travelled towards the ruins. Zer0's head was spinning with thoughts, just like it always was. _"Why can't she see that I'm not interested?"_ Zer0 grumbled in his head. _"I've made it blatantly obvious that I don't want to date her. What do I have to do? Kiss another woman in front of her? It's either that or reveal who… what I really am. And I REALLY don't want to do that."_ Zer0 stopped and proclaimed "I will take a look, to see where we really are. I will be real quick." Maya smiled and replied "Well don't take too long. I'll get lonely without you." Zer0 rolled his eyes under his helmet as he climbed the nearest tree.

He pulled out his Jakobs sniper with a scope and looked around to find any markers of a ruin. He spotted just what he was looking for a good distance away, but there was one big problem. He spotted about three large bird Grimm known as Nevermores flying around it. He jumped down and reported "I found the ruins, but there are hostiles there. We must be careful." Maya questioned "What are we dealing with? Beowolves? Ursi? Give me some real information."

Zer0 was surprised that Maya already knew about the different types of Grimm. A "!" holo appeared on his helmet and Maya exclaimed "You aren't the only one who does research. I read up on what we're going to be dealing with here." Zer0 responded "Let's go." Maya nodded and the two sprinted in the direction of their high-flying enemies. They ran for a few minutes and broke through the tree line to see a large open field.

Zer0 spotted Axton by a large circular ruin with several pedestals in it. "About time all of you showed up!" Axton shouted while he fired his Dahl rifle. "These bastards have had me pinned for too long!" Zer0 pulled out his Elephant gun (the golden scopeless sniper from chapter one) and tried sniping at the Nevermore. Maya pulled out her Maliwan shock sniper and started firing at them too. "Have you seen Salvador?" Maya questioned as she reloaded her sniper.

At the exact moment, Salvador bursted out of the tree line and was firing his Shredifier and his Bandit SMG at the Nevermore. "Who pissed the birds off?" He questioned as he sprinted over to his comrades. "You land on one bird and all of them are pissed at you!" Axton shouted as he reloaded. "I had to kill two of these birds just to get here!" All of them were back to back as the Nevermores circled overhead. "I'll bring one of them down!" Maya shouted as she raised her arm.

She phase locked one of the Nevermore in midair and everyone focused their fire on it. The bird struggled and finally broke free of Maya's phase lock. Sadly its wings were stuck to its body from the slag and it plunged to the ground. It hurdled into the mist of the cliffs just pasted the ruins they were at. "I have an idea." Zer0 proclaimed. "Follow me."

Zer0 made a mad dash for the Cliffside ruins with his friends behind him. "What's the plan?" Axton questioned. "They are going to dive for us." Zer0 explained. "We get one to dive low and we start dropping these stones on them. Simple and effective."

"Better than anything I've got. Me and Sal will get the rocks to fall, you and Maya get the birds to dive."

"Done. Let's go!"

Zer0 ran to the edge of the broken bridge and turned towards the two Grimm that flew towards him. Maya stopped next to him and groaned "I hope this works." Zer0 chuckled "Me too." The first Nevermore took the bait and started to dive at them, almost dragging its stomach against the ground. Zer0 took Maya's hand and muttered "Wait for it." The Nevermore drew closer as Zer0 repeated "Wait for it."

The Nevermore just crossed the bridge when Zer0 shouted "Now!" He shot forward, nearly dragging Maya, as Salvador and Axton blasted large chunks of the pillars around the ruins. The pieces struck the Nevermore and caused it to crash into the ground and start rolling. Zer0 read how the Nevermore rolled and pulled Maya down so it would pass over them harmlessly. The Grimm passed over them and tumbled into the mist like the one before it.

Zer0 could hear Axton and Salvador cheering over their kill and it caused him to chuckle. "There's still one more coming!" Maya pointed out. Zer0 saw the other Nevermore begin to dive towards them, but Zer0 had another plan. "Maya, I want you to phase lock me and throw me at the Nevermore as hard as you can." Zer0 explained. "What!? I don't know how that will affect you!" Maya replied. "I've never used my powers on you unless you're down!"

"You have to trust me." Zer0 urged as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you won't hurt me." Maya looked like she wanted to protest, but exclaimed "Alright, just hang on." She took a few steps back and raised her arm. Zer0 felt himself lift into the air, but he wasn't blighted like enemies would have been. _"Thank god that worked."_ Zer0 sighed in his head as Maya pulled him back. _"Now let's see if this plan works just as well."_

Maya flung him as hard as she could, sending him flying towards the Nevermore. Zer0 drew his katana as he neared the Grimm, which was opening its mouth at the same time. He expected this and put his katana perpendicular to his chest, waiting for the Nevermore to swallow him. He smirked as he saw the beak pass over his head, then run straight into his blade. It took all of his strength to keep the blade straight as he sliced the Nevermore's insides, but it was worth it when he felt the beast buckle and crash.

He was stuck in its throat when the Grimm finally stopped rolling and he crawled out of the corpse. He stood up and was immediately tackled by Maya. "I can't believe you put yourself on the line like that!" She cried/ scolded. "Don't ever scare us like that again!" He patted her on the back as he high-fived Axton and Salvador. "Nice plan there Zer0." Axton complimented. "Maya… you can let him go now."

Maya back off with a red face and apologized "Sorry. It was just a scary plan to see a friend go down a monster's throat." Salvador laughed "Then you don't want to know what happened to me!" All of them started to walk back to the ruins when there was a very loud rumbling sound. "What the hell is that?" Axton questioned. Zer0 looked at his mini map and saw a very large wall of red dots moving to their position.

The tree line at the far end of the clearing practically exploded with Beowolves. "Shit." All four of them seemed to curse at the same time. "That's my bad." Zer0 apologized. He drew his katana and drew his Greed revolver. Axton reloaded his rifle and Salvador pulled out his two guns.

Maya pulled out her Hellfire and exclaimed "It's been a pleasure fighting with all of you gentleman, and Axton." Axton laughed "I'll say nice things about you at your funeral." Salvador shouted "We'll I sure as hell am not dying today!" Zer0 smirked under his helmet and thought _"This could prove a challenge. Let's do this."_ Axton shouted "Ready!"

All of them raised their weapons and Axton continued "Aim!" The Beowolf army was about halfway when Axton finally shouted "Fire!" It was like a wall of bullets struck the front line of Beowolves as they collapsed in a bloody mess. Axton threw out his turrets as Maya and Zer0 reloaded and Salvador continued to blast away the Grimm. Zer0 put away the Greed and pulled out his Elephant Gun.

He started taking the Grimm's heads off and thanks to his B0re ability, the bullets went straight through one Grimm and struck others. Maya phase locked one and pulled a mess of others towards the orb, which coated the beasts in slag and then hit them with every element. Salvador didn't even reload, his weapons just seemed to continuously fire and destroy the Beowolves. Axton fired his Dahl assault rifle, but his turrets with their continuous fire, slag bullets and rocket pods seemed to do most of the work as they devastated the front line Grimm. The Grimm's ranks grew weak and it just became an all-out charge to see who could get to the Vault Hunters.

Zer0 put his sniper rifle on his back and drew his sword and Greed again. He shot forward and sliced the first Beowolf he crossed in half. He sliced two more before deploying his hologram and tossing a handful of kunai. They throwing knives exploded into a cluster of fire while his hologram detonated in an electrical explosion. He revealed himself as he plunged his blade into a Beowolf's chest and fired two rounds into another, lighting it on fire.

He ripped the blade out and dashed towards another one that seemed unclear about what was happening. He sliced the beast's head off and shot two more rounds at another. This one didn't burn, but it did collapse from a round that pierced its heart. Zer0 smiled under his helmet as he continuously cut down the monsters, feeling their blood spill onto his suit. This is what he lived for, the hunt, the kill… the challenge.

He saw a Beowolf get lifted into the air and pulled others towards it as the wave of fire from Maya's Helios skill torched them. The beasts cried in pain as they burned and were then subject to all of the other elements. Maya was cutting down the Beowolves with her Hellfire and lighting all of them on fire. She walked through the maze of burning corpses and continued to gun down the beasts. Salvador shot past her, still firing his weapons wildly and devastating Grimm.

He stopped and was practically spinning to increase his field of fire, still cutting Grimm down nearly to a red mush. Axton remained where he was and worked with his turrets to demolish any Grimm that came within range of his radar. A group of Beowolves charged Axton and his turrets, almost like they were using each other as meat shields. Only one made it to Axton, but he saw it coming and threw his hatchet, nailing the beast in the head with it. He ripped his hatchet from the beast's head and stuck it back onto his belt.

The other Beowolves got the message that the Vault Hunters were a force to be reckoned with and retreated back into the forest. All of the Vault Hunters cheered (except for Zer0) in their victory and returned to the ruins. Axton grabbed a golden king chess piece and questioned "Do you think this is what we're supposed to get?" Salvador responded "If not then we get to come back here!" The others shrugged and made their way back to the cliff, where Ozpin was waiting patiently.

"Glad to see that all of you have made it out of the forest alive." Ozpin proclaimed. "The large number of Beowolves you fought plus the Nevermores and the creatures each of you individually fought. Most impressive." Axton practically barked "What? You saw all of that and didn't do anything to help us!"

"I was confident within all of your abilities to handle the situation each of you were dealt with. All of you are here, so there is no problem. I also assume that your standards in the social structure at Beacon have increased as well since all of the school has seen your triumphs."

"What?"

Maya interpreted "He knew we could handle ourselves and we're popular since the entire school knows we're badasses." Axton replied "Oh. Cool. Then let's get going!" The group returned to Beacon each with their own opinion of what was happening. Axton was awaiting the glory of being the badass that he was. Salvador wanted to see what kind of fun he would have. Zer0 awaited future challenges since only the bravest and strongest would challenge him.

Maya really didn't care about her being popular or anything. All she wanted was Zer0 and she was one step closer to it.


	9. Chapter 9: Reputations

Here is your second chapter of… wait for it… DOUBLE DOSE SUNDAY! (INSET GUITAR SOLO)

Chapter 9: Reputations

The Vault Hunters returned to Beacon and were greeted like they were when they defeated the Warrior and killed Jack, as heroes. Axton walked into the hall with his arms out, causing the crowd to cheer like he was some kind of rock star. He was soaking up the moment as he made his way to the stage. Salvador walked in and was greeted with the same enthusiasm that Axton got. He got up onto the stage and stood next to Axton, who he promptly fist-bumped.

Maya walked in and was greeted with hoots and whistles from just about every guy in the room. She rolled her eyes and thought _"Just a bunch of hormone driven teenagers. They all know who my man is… or who it's going to be." _ She got up onto the stage, high-fived Axton and patted Salvador on the shoulder. Zer0 walked in and the hall went nearly dead quiet other than the uncomfortable murmurs. Zer0 smiled beneath his helmet and thought _"They're all scared of me… good. I want the best of the best to challenge me."_

The silence was broken by a familiar voice cheering, Velvet's voice. He got up to the stage and saw her in the front row with a large smile on her face. A ": )" appeared on his helmet as he stood next to Maya. Professor Ozpin walked onto the stage with Professor Goodwitch behind him with a scroll in her hand. Ozpin walked to the mike and proclaimed "Axton the Commando, Maya the Siren, Salvador the… Gunzerker and Zer0 the Assassin. You four went into the Emerald forest and retrieved the white King. All of you have gone through the initiation process, just as every student here has done as well. You will all work together, just as you have, and be known as Team Vault."

"Team Vault, eh?" Axton muttered to his friends. "Only seems fitting, since we're Vault Hunters." Maya added "Doesn't really change much about us. We're all friends and we've been through hell and back with each other." Salvador jumped in "I'm just not looking forward to starting school again." Axton chuckled "Same here my little amigo. What do you think Zer0? You've been awfully quiet."

Zer0 was observing everyone in the hall, seeing if any of them could possibly put up a challenge. He spotted Pyrrha, the Crimson Spartan as he's heard her be called, and Team RWBY, all staring at him uncomfortably. _"If everyone here saw what we were doing, then I'm assuming they are uncomfortable with what I was doing to that Beowolf." _Zer0 thought._ "But what puzzles me the most is why Velvet of all people seems to be only one to continue to be kind to me other than my fellow Vault Hunters." _His look fell back to Velvet in the front, still with a smile on her face even though everyone around her was shooting her dirty looks. Zer0 softly chuckled and thought _"At least I still have one new friend."_

Maya nudged him with her elbow and questioned "You good Zer0? You seem like you've been staring off into space." Zer0 responded "I'm fine. Just… thinking."

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing in particular." He lied. He hopped off the stage and asked Velvet "Can we get something to eat? I'm pretty hungry." Velvet replied "Sure. They should be serving lunch right about now."

"Awesome. All that fighting really made me hungry."

Zer0 walked with Velvet through the crowd (which seemed to part as Zer0 made his way through) and they walked into the dining hall. The place was practically deserted other than a few people. Velvet helped Zer0 get his food since he was still in the dark about the cuisine of this world. She grabbed him a turkey sandwich and potato chips. They sat down and Zer0 lifted his helmet to try his new food. He was about to eat when he noticed that Velvet was staring at him with a large smile across her face.

"What?" He asked before he bit down on his sandwich. "Thank you." She finally proclaimed.

"For what?"

"For being my friend. No one else had done what you've done for me."

"Then I should say thank you for being my friend too."

Velvet tilted her head to the side with a confused look and questioned "Why are you thanking me for being your friend?" Zer0 put his sandwich down and explained "After everyone saw me in the forest… everyone is afraid of me. It's good to find a strong opponent, but people generally avoid people like me."

"I know that you can be nice, I've seen that when you stood up for me. I just overlooked the flaws you have and focused on the good."

Zer0 smiled and replied "Thanks Velvet, you're sweet." She giggled as Zer0 took a bite of his sandwich. "Hey there Zer0!" Axton called as he entered the dining hall. He sat down next to Zer0 and started eating his chips. "Eating lunch with your new girlfriend?" Axton questioned, causing Velvet to turn a bright red and Zer0 to choke on his lunch.

Zer0 finally got his food down and barked "Fuck off Axton!" Axton put his hands up and proclaimed "Whoa man! No need to bite my head off! It was a joke!" Zer0 groaned "You're a fucking moron. Just because I am friends with a girl doesn't mean she's my girlfriend. Right Velvet?" Velvet agreed "Right. We're just friends."

"There you have it Axton."

"Well my bad bro." Axton laughed. "That's right, you were going for Maya to be your girl. Or was it Blake? A real lady killer aren't cha?" Zer0 slid his helmet down and face palmed the visor. "I repeat," Zer0 groaned, "you're a fucking moron."

"And you aren't speaking in haiku. What's up with that?"

A "!" holo appeared when Zer0 figured that Axton was right, he hadn't stuck to his usual speech pattern. Zer0 shrugged and explained "I don't know. I guess I just forgot."

"You forgot? You always speak in haiku!"

"Well I guess it isn't always then is it?"

"Smart ass. I'm going to get food myself."

Axton got up and went to the food line to get himself something to eat. He was familiar with the food of this world since it was the same on his home planet. _"Zer0's been acting a lot differently lately."_ Axton thought as he grabbed his lunch. _"He's being really… friendly with people. I took him forever just to talk to us when we started working together. But now he's chatting girls up that he just met."_ Axton looked over his shoulder to see Zer0 with his helmet up and talking with Velvet. "Weird." Axton muttered as he returned to the table.

"So where's your team Velvet?" Axton questioned as he picked up his ham sandwich. "They don't like to be seen with a Faunus." She explained in a sad tone. "Faunus are seriously oppressed just for being different." Zer0 exclaimed with a full mouth. "Makes me sick." Axton raised an eyebrow at Zer0 talking with his mouth full. Axton put his sandwich down and questioned "What's up with you Zer0?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting different ever since we got here."

"Different how? No haikus? Me talking with people? The way I'm acting?"

"Exactly. Are you just doing it on purpose?"

"I don't know really. I'm just… going with what I feel. It may be this new world or the Vault Key transporting us or whatever. I just feel… free to be who I am."

"Who you are? I've known you for a while and you've acted like an assassin."

Axton was practically screaming at this point. Zer0 slid his helmet down and stood up to be eye to eye with him. "Now you're suddenly here and now you're acting like… like… a kid!" Zer0 cocked his head to the side and repeated "A kid?"

"Yes! A kid! What happened to the assassin that I've worked with?"

Zer0 looked around and sighed "You are right Axton. I just haven't been myself. I apologize." He walked past Axton, who noticed that his head was hung a little low. "I'll see you around?" Velvet questioned. Zer0 looked back, but didn't respond. He walked out of the dining hall silently, leaving the entire place in an awkward silence.

"Nice work jack ass!" Velvet barked at Axton. Axton was surprised to hear the bunny girl yelling at him. "Was it that big of a problem for him to be making friends?" She continued to holler. "Because he was my ONLY friend you… you… jack ass!" She stormed out of the dining hall, making a huge scene out of it. Axton looked around like he was trying to find answers.

"What… what the hell just happened?" Axton asked himself as he sat down. All he wanted to know is why Zer0 was acting so differently. Maya and Sal walked in and sat down across from him. "You know what's up with Zer0?" Sal questioned. "He looked… I don't know, like he was down." Axton answered "I asked… well maybe that's the wrong word. I kinda yelled at him for acting different." Maya asked "Does that also work into why Velvet ran out of here looking really pissed off?"

"Yeah, she didn't like it either. I guess I should apologize to Zer0."

"Sounds like a plan."

O00000O00000O

Zer0 sat on the rooftop of one of the dorms and looked out across the massive school. What Axton had said about Zer0, about him acting like a kid, really struck home. The main reason; that's all Zer0 was. He reached up and unlatched his helmet, allowing him to simply slide it off of his head. He set the helmet on the ledge next to him and let the cool breeze wash over his pale skin.

He ran his gloved hand through his short white hair as he looked into the sky with his light blue eyes. "I should tell them." He sighed in a normal voice. No haikus, no voice modulator… no lies. "I should tell them since they are my friends." He sighed to himself. He stared at the black helmet next to him and thought _"All I am is an assassin to them and from what Axton said to me… it's all I ever will be."_

He heard the door shut behind him and thought _"Great. At least someone will know who I really am."_ He looked back to see Velvet with her hand over her mouth. He smiled and exclaimed "Congrats Velvet. You are the first person to see me without my helmet on." She sat down next to him and picked up his helmet. "Well?" Zer0 questioned after a moment of silence. "Any thoughts?"

"I didn't expect you to look so young." She shared. "I figured you be older."

"Yeah, I expected that a lot if I ever did reveal myself."

"How old are you? If that's not going too far."

Zer0 chuckled "I'm actually pretty young. 20 years old and the greatest assassin ever." He looked at Velvet, whose mouth was a gape and her eyes wide. "20? Really?" She questioned.

"By chronological years. If we go by mentally then I'm, like 40 or something."

"I just can't believe how young you are!"

"I get it. I'm young. That's why I reacted the way I did when Axton called me a kid since I am one."

There was a moment of silence between them until Velvet proclaimed "I'll keep this a secret if you want me to." Zer0 pondered it and replied "That's probably for the best. I'm an assassin after all, and kids can't really be assassins."

"Can we still be friends?"

"Duh, of course we can. Axton can go fuck himself if he thinks he's the boss of me."

They both laughed at the joke and Velvet handed him back his helmet. He slid it over his head, feeling the breeze get cut off. "I never did finish my lunch." Zer0 groaned as he got up. "Well then let's go!" Velvet proclaimed as she took his hand. "They're still serving lunch." Zer0 smiled as she dragged him back into the building… as his friend dragged him back into the building.

BLAM! I bet NO ONE saw that coming that Zer0 was just a kid. Straight from left fucking field if you tell me. PM or review any thoughts on the subject or anything else.

-Chief


	10. Chapter 10: Thoughts

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, work being crazy and unpredictable and I just finished a major story. So now more time can be put in to this.

Chapter 10: Thoughts

Team RWBY walked into the dining hall and Ruby pointed out "There's the Vault Hunters! Let's go sit with them!" No one argued and they sat with their off world friends. "What's going on guys?" Ruby questioned since they seemed a little down. "I kinda had a fight with Zer0." Axton groaned as he ate his sandwich. "What did you guys fight about?" Yang questioned.

"I basically yelled at him for acting different then what we are used to."

Weiss questioned "You mean he didn't act like a monster before?" Blake looked over her book and noticed Maya shoot Weiss a dirty look and Salvador scowled. "The Beowolf thing was new." Axton continued, even though he didn't look too happy about her comment. "He was always looking for a challenge, but I'm talking about how he is just being so friendly to people. I mean there's nothing wrong with it, it's just the fact it took him two months to talk to us after we met him. He's also not talking in haiku, which is weird for him since he always did." Axton went quiet for a moment and finished "It's like we don't even know him anymore." Blake added "But did you really know him?"

She looked up and all of the Vault Hunters were giving her a strange look. Blake set her book down and explained "He's an assassin, a master of killing and stealth. Do any of you really think that he would reveal anything about himself that is true? Who's to say everything you know about him isn't a lie?" Maya looked enraged and growled "You have no idea what all of us have been through together. Don't you DARE sit there at talk like you have a clue about who Zer0 is. Yes, he's an assassin but he is also our friend." Salvador added "We fought together, bled together… and died together. We stopped a madman from burning our world to ashes together. Our friend is an assassin, but still our friend." Axton spoke "And you, Weiss, need to stop calling him a monster or I'm going to knock your fucking teeth out."

"Are you threatening me?" Weiss snapped.

"I'm making a promise that if you keep talking shit about Zer0 then you'll have to answer for it."

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Yeah, you're a stuck up bitch who is bad mouthing my friend."

"Why the nerve!"

Weiss and Axton were practically face to face about to jump the table and attack each other. Ruby pulled Weiss back into her seat and Maya put a hand on Axton's shoulder. "What about the rest of you?" Salvador questioned. "What do you think about Zer0?" Ruby started "I don't really know what to think. I haven't talked with him enough or fought with him. I do hope that he can show me a few tricks with a sniper rifle." Yang added "I think the incident with the Beowolf was a little much. He kinda gives me the creeps."

Everyone looked to Blake to hear her thoughts on the armor clad assassin. "I have a few thoughts on the assassin." She proclaimed from behind her book. "He seems obsessed with finding a challenge. Willing to do anything, as we've seen, to get his challenge. Even if it means putting others in danger." She looked up to see the Vault Hunter's giving her dirty looks like the ones they gave to Weiss. "However," Blake continued, "he is a loyal friend to all of you. He has done more good than anything here. He's stood up to Cardin, befriended Velvet, and saved my life. He may be an assassin, but he is also a good person." The Vault Hunters smiled knowing that there were people who didn't see Zer0 simply as a monster or a killer.

"Good to know what all of you think." Blake heard Zer0 proclaim. She looked over her shoulder to see Zer0 with a ": )" on his helmet and Velvet with a smile on her face. "Thank you for all the nice things you have said about me." Zer0 proclaimed. "Ruby, I would be glad to show you a thing or two about sniping. Yang, I do realize that I can be creepy, but you get used to it. Weiss, I know my methods are a bit… drastic, but you'll warm up to me. And Blake, thank you. My offer still stands." Blake raised an eyebrow and questioned "What offer?" He leaned towards her and whispered in her ear "Tell me your secrets and I'll tell you mine."

"I may just take you up on that offer."

A ": )" appeared on his helmet as he patted her shoulder. "What about you Velvet?" Yang questioned. "What do you think about Zer0?" Blake noticed Velvet turn a little pink and answered "Well, Zer0 is really nice and a great friend. He stood up to Cardin and protected me from my daily torment. He's really sweet and handsome…" Velvet threw her hands over her mouth as Zer0 barked "Velvet!" The Vault Hunters practically lost it when Velvet said Zer0 was handsome.

"What the hell Zer0?" Axton snapped. "We've worked together for the longest time and we haven't seen your face! You know this girl for two days and she's seen your face!" Maya added "Seriously Zer0! Do you seriously trust the bunny more than you trust us?" Zer0 responded "I didn't mean to show her my face! She snuck up on me!" Salvador argued "Bullshit! How does a bunny sneak up on an assassin?"

"I was distracted! I was upset about Axton yelling at me!"

Axton argued "Don't put this on me! You're the one holding secrets from us but telling girls you just met!" Zer0 responded "Why is this such a big deal?"

"Because we know nothing about you and we've been through everything together!"

Zer0 ran his hand along his helmet and groaned "I'm not doing this right now. I'll talk to all of you later." Zer0 turned and was about to walk away when Axton reached for him. "Hold on Zer0!" Axton barked. "We aren't done here yet!" Axton's hand passed through Zer0's shoulder and the hologram disappeared. "Dammit Zer0!" Axton cursed.

He turned to Velvet, who seemed incredibly scared and embarrassed. Axton pointed at her and ordered "Start talking." She shook her head and responded "No. Zer0 will tell you in his own time. It isn't my place."

"Then how did you see his face?"

"Like Zer0 said, he was distracted when I walked up to him without his helmet on. He knew that I saw him, so he didn't bother putting it back on."

"Alright, your story checks out. I guess we should apologize again to Zer0."

Maya and Salvador nodded and the trio walked out of the dining hall. Velvet sat down and looked visibly shaken. "You alright?" Blake questioned. "Y-y-yeah." She stammered. "I just don't like being put on the spot like that. Especially by someone like Axton."

"Just out of curiosity… what does Zer0 look like without his helmet?"

Velvet bit her lip in thought until Yang exclaimed "Remember Blake, you know what they say about curiosity." Blake rolled her eyes as Velvet exclaimed "Alright. I'll tell you guys. He's pale, probably from wearing the helmet all the time. He's got these, just beautiful light blue eyes. Kinda like staring into a clear day sky. Then his hair is white as snow and short. He just looks so handsome." Blake thought _"He does sound handsome from what Velvet is saying. Maybe I should take him up on his offer, but another time."_

O00000O00000O

Zer0 laid across his bed in the Vault Hunter's room and thought _"Why can't I just be left alone about what's beneath the armor? Is it really that important? Plus if they find out who… what I am. Everything will change. I can't let that happen."_ There was a knock at the door and Zer0 groaned "What?" Axton answered "It's us. We just want to talk." Zer0 got up and opened the door for his friends. He opened the door and all of them had apologetic looks on their faces.

"Look Zer0," Axton started, "we're sorry about flipping out on you. We all know how you don't like to reveal yourself on purpose."

Zer0 sighed "It's just as much my fault since I didn't let you guys in. Step in and shut the door." His friends walked in and Salvador shut the door behind him. Zer0 sat on his bed and sighed "After everything we've been through, all of you at least deserve to see my face." Zer0 reached up and undid the latches on his helmet, slowly sliding it off his face. He set his helmet on his bed and listened to the silence of his friend's shock.

"Holy shit." Axton gasped. "How old are you? You look young enough to be my brother!"

Zer0 chuckled "I'm about 20 years old." He looked over to see his friend's jaws practically on the floor. Maya walked over to him and lightly dragged her fingertips across his cheek. "Is this why you don't want to be with me?" She questioned. Zer0 sighed and lied "Yes. You're just a little too old for me."

"Gee, thanks for calling me old."

"It's me just being too young for you. Is that better?"

Maya rolled her eyes and sat down next to Zer0. "So this is you underneath it all?" Salvador questioned. "Yep. This is me, just a kid who became an assassin." Zer0 answered. "So when I called you a kid, I was actually hitting that nail on the head." Axton exclaimed.

"Dead center."

"My bad bro. I just didn't know."

"It's okay Axton. I know, but now that all of you do know, don't spread this around the school. I would rather keep this under wraps."

His friends nodded and he smiled, proclaiming "Thanks guys. So don't plan on me wearing my helmet when it's just us. It'll make it easier to get comfortable with just us." Axton responded "No worries Zer0. Just between us Vault Hunters."


	11. Chapter 11: A Challenger Appears

Guess who didn't have to work today! That's right! This guy! Anyway, here's a new chapter… since I'm feeling generous.

Chapter 11: A Challenger Appears

Zer0 walked down the hall with Maya as they headed for the arena for Combat Skills class. Zer0 was starting to enjoy the freedom of not having to hide himself around his friends. The only downside was the fact Maya persisted on trying to date him, even though she was nearly ten years older than he was. He understood the fact that age really didn't matter on Pandora for the people you become intimate with, but this wasn't Pandora. She walked dangerously close to him as she questioned "So who are you going to fight today? I doubt anyone will accept a challenge from you."

"I'm hoping Pyrrha Nikos will hold me to her challenge."

"Isn't she the red head with the spear and shield?"

"She is. She's the four time champion of the Mistral Tournament, so I foresee her being a challenging fight."

They walked into the arena to see a large number of students around the stage, watching the two contenders face off. It was Salvador against Nora Valkyrie, from what Zer0 had heard about her, she was a hammer wielding, grenade shooting psychopath. Zer0 couldn't see the fight, but he heard a large explosion and saw Salvador fly from the stage. As soon as he hit the floor, Professor Goodwitch declared "Salvador has been removed from the arena, Nora Valkyrie is the winner." Nora cheered "Booyah! Who's next? I'm ready to go!"

Zer0 stepped forward and declared "How about me?" The arena went quiet as a ": )" holo appeared on his helmet. Nora laughed "No way there skinny. I'm nowhere near your level." She jumped off the stage as Zer0 climbed up and observed the hushed crowd. "Since you are without an opponent" Goodwitch exclaimed, "you may choose anyone from the crowd." Everyone shifted uncomfortably as Zer0 searched for a worthy opponent.

His gaze rested on Pyrrha, who had a determined smile on her face. "You, Pyrrha Nikos." He declared as he pointed at her. "You will be my challenger. Give me your best shot." She walked onto the stage and exclaimed "I will assure you Zer0, I will not go easy on you."

"I don't expect it. So do not disappoint me. Give me my challenge."

She drew her spear and shield, Milo and Akouo, and readied herself for the fight. Zer0 drew his katana and the Rex, prepared to face his challenger. "Our next match will be between Pyrrha Nikos and Zer0 the Assassin." Goodwitch announced. "The match will end if either fighter's aura reaches critical, or the fighter's weapon or the fighter themselves are thrown from the arena. Let me remind you, your goal is to defeat the other fighter, not kill them." She shot Zer0 a look and Zer0 sighed, thinking _"Every single time I fight someone they think I will kill them. That's mainly my fault."_ Goodwitch proclaimed "Ready… begin!"

Zer0 shot forward with his katana ready as he shot off a round to distract Pyrrha. The round ricocheted off of her shield and she charged Zer0. He swung his blade and she deflected with her spear, then bashed Zer0 with her shield. Zer0 slid back and switched out his Rex with the Greed for a faster fire rate. He started firing off rounds, but they simply bounced off of her shield.

Zer0 analyzed the fight, determining that gunfire was useless and his single blade wouldn't do much since she was armed with a spear and shield. He smirked under his helmet as he holstered his Greed and pulled out a kunai. "I don't think throwing that will help you." Pyrrha pointed out. "I did not say that." Zer0 haikued. "I will not throw this kunai, but strike with it." He darted forward and delivered a flurry of strikes using his katana and kunai.

She blocked all of the strikes with her shield, showing no signs of tiring out. _"Her defenses are strong."_ Zer0 thought as he continued to strike at her. _"I did not count on her amazing stamina."_ Zer0 shot back to rethink his strategy on taking out the Crimson Spartan. He thought of a devious plan and charged Pyrrha once more. The difference with this charge was that Zer0 slipped into Deception and slunk behind Pyrrha.

By the time Pyrrha realized that it was a trick, Zer0 was already mid swing. His katana struck her back and sent her flying. She rolled and tried to stand, but Zer0 wouldn't let his window close and be stuck hitting a wall again. Zer0 kicked her stomach and then kneed her in the face, knocking her onto her back. Zer0 stomped on her chest and put his katana to her throat.

"That is enough!" Professor Goodwitch barked, obviously afraid Zer0 would kill Pyrrha. "Zer0 the Assassin is the winner." Zer0 sheathed his blade and helped Pyrrha to her feet. "I'm sorry I didn't give you your challenge." Pyrrha apologized as she brushed herself off. "Worthy opponent." Zer0 complimented. "You gave me a run for it. Made me work to win."

"I will be looking for a rematch in the future."

"Then prepare yourself. I look forward to our fun. Good day, Mrs. Nikos."

Pyrrha walked off stage, leaving Zer0 with Goodwitch who questioned "Is there anyone who wishes to challenge Zer0 next?" The crowd was hushed once more and Zer0 planned on no one stepping up to the plate. "I'll take him on." A familiar voice declared. Blake made her way through the crowd and jumped onto the stage. "I'll take on the assassin." She added as she drew her bladed pistol, Gambol Shroud.

A ": )" holo appeared on his helmet as he exclaimed "Blake Belladonna, you are my new challenger. Are you my challenge?"

"We'll have to see, now won't we pretty boy?"

"?"

"Velvet told Team RWBY what you look like without the helmet."

"Dammit Velvet! I didn't think you'd tell everyone!"

"Are you going to sit there and cry? Or are we going to fight?"

Zer0 drew his katana and a kunai, thinking he wouldn't be able to strike her with a revolver. She took a fighting stance as Goodwitch announced "The next fight is between Zer0 the Assassin and Blake Belladonna. The rules are the same, the fight will end when one fighter's aura reaches critical or the fighter's weapon or the fighter is thrown from the arena. Ready… begin!" The two fighters charged each other and clashed blades with lighting speed. Zer0 was amazed at the speed the woman possessed, she was almost as fast as he was… almost. Zer0 saw an opening and struck immediately but his blade hit nothing but air.

A "!" appeared on his helmet as he stumbled from the swing. The next thing he knew, he was struck in the back and rolled to face Blake, who had a smug smile on her face. "A trick, I now see." Zer0 pointed out as he readied himself. "I am not one to be, easily deceived." Blake responded "You aren't the one with clones either Zer0." The two charged each other again, blades, holograms and clones being thrown like lightning.

The fight seems to go one forever since time seemed to slow for Zer0, analyzing every move, every swing and every prediction. She was giving him a fight… she was giving him a challenge. He rethought his strategy and sent his hologram out, but shot behind Blake like he did with Pyrrha. He swung at her, but she ducked under the swing, like she knew he was there and knew it was his hologram. He was thrown for a loop as his swing arched over her head and she struck him in the stomach.

He buckled from the strike and she hit the side of his helmet with the butt of her blade. He rolled and stood up to see Blake swinging her blade at him. He jumped back, but was half a second too late since he felt the blade tear something. He looked down to see a tear in his suit and it was beginning to spark. "Shit!" Zer0 cursed as he quickly got the upper part of his suit off.

He threw it aside and sighed "Too close. A second later and I would have been electrocuted." Blake felt her face turn pink as Zer0 stripped his suit off, revealing his toned body. _"Dear Dust!"_ She gasped in her head. _"He's… hot!"_ She found herself staring at his body, which was incredibly pale. Sure, he was pretty skinny for a man, but was still very good looking.

"You are going to pay for that." Zer0 declared as he readied himself. "It isn't going to be easy to fix my suit." Blake shook the thoughts from her head and readied herself. The two shot forward and clashed blades with the usual speed. _"Maybe he can't use his ability without his suit."_ Blake thought as she sent out a Shadow clone. She used the tactic he used before, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

Zer0 was quiet, but he wasn't 100% silent to her. She heard him slip behind her before with her cat ears and she planned accordingly. Zer0 swung and sliced through her clone as she was just about to connect her blade with the back of his head. He stumbled forward and Blake was right on top of him as he spun around. She brought her blade to his throat and Professor Goodwitch declared "The winner is Blake Belladonna."

It was dead silent, the only sound was Blake's panting as she lowered her blade. "I… lost." Zer0 gasped. "I… I… I never lose." Blake wiped the sweat from her brow and panted "There's a first time for everything."

"…"

Zer0 sheathed his blade and walked past her wordlessly, grabbing his suit and jumping from the stage. He pushed through everyone and returned to his room. He threw his helmet off and barked "How the FUCK did she do that? How the… FUCK!" Zer0 tossed his torn suit on his bed and paced around the room. His mind was working every scenario, every possibility, every way she could have beaten him… but he was coming up empty.

"How did she beat me?" Zer0 mumbled to himself as he picked up his suit and sat at the desk. He took out his repair that he carried in the event that his suit was ever damaged. He began piecing his suit back together, stitching the wiring back together, and sewing the fabric. He heard the door open and Maya question "Are you okay Zer0? You seemed in shock after your match with Blake." Zer0 admitted "I'm having a bit of… trouble, coming to terms with my loss. I've never lost a fight before and I just don't know how she did it."

Maya wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Maybe she just got lucky." Maya suggested. That was something that crossed his mind, but it couldn't have been luck. She dodged that swing perfectly… like she knew he slipped behind her. "I doubt that." Zer0 grumbled as he continued to fix his suit.

Maya kissed his cheek and assured "She got lucky. That's all that happened." Maya let him go and allowed him to continue fixing his suit. Zer0 continued to work and thought _"I will know how she did it… I swear I will learn her secrets."_

O00000O00000O

Blake was practically on edge the rest of the day. No one had seen Zer0 after their match where she beat him. According to the Vault Hunters, Zer0 always sought out the person that beat him… and killed them. Blake asked the Vault Hunters "You don't really think he'll kill me? Right?" The three exchanged nervous looks and Axton answered "I don't think he'll kill you, but I can't be certain. Bandits that did get a lucky shot on him did seem to… disappear without a trace."

"You're… you're just trying to freak me out."

She looked to Salvador and Maya, who were both shaking their heads. _"Oh shit."_ Blake swore in her head. _"He's going to kill me."_ She went to the rest of her classes, almost constantly looking over her shoulder and expecting Zero to be there with his blade ready to strike her down. Zer0 was absent from the remaining classes they shared, no one knowing where he was. She met up with her team at the end of the day and admitted "I am freaking out right now!"

"I don't think that Zer0 is going to kill you." Ruby assured from her bed. Blake sat on her bed, unsure if what Ruby said was true or not. Yang hung from her bed and asked "Do you want to get something to eat? Maybe a little tuna will calm your nerves." Blake responded "Maybe in a bit. I just need a warm bath to calm me down a bit." She went into the bath room and drew her bath, hoping that it would help her a bit.

She heard her team leave for dinner as she slipped into the warm water. Unaware to her, the dark room remained occupied by a darker shadow. Red lights appeared in the darkness, illuminating the visor that waited.

"."

".."

"…"

CLIFFHANGER! (GUITAR SOLO!) Almost forgot it! But what will happen now that Zer0 has been beaten? IS Blake's life really in danger? Doubt it but it adds tension. Anyway, might post the next chapter later today since it is such a cliffhanger. (Dragonball Z announcer voice) Next time on Vault of Vytal! Blake comes face to face with her rival and possible killer… Zer0. Will she survive? Find next time on Vault of Vytal!

-Chief


	12. Chapter 12: Sharing Secrets

Here we are… Zer0 about to face the one that defeated him in combat. What will happen? Let's watch… also, GUITAR SOLO!1 (Insert guitar solo).

Chapter 12: Sharing Secrets

Blake emerged from her bath, relaxed and calmer than she did before she got in. She was still a little nervous, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. She wrapped a towel around herself and tied her bow over her ears. She exited the bathroom to find the room cloaked in darkness. _"Why did they turn the light out?"_ She thought. _"They knew I was still in here."_

She went for the light switch when she noticed the soft red light on the other side of the room. Her eyes went wide and the panic settled back in as she looked over at the source of the light. She could barely make out the shape of a person and a ":-]" appeared in the darkness. _"This is it."_ Blake thought as fear froze her and the shadow lunged at her. _"This is where I die."_ She was pinned against the wall, arms pinned over her head and was face to face with the dark assassin that would end her life.

"Hello there Blake." Zer0 greeted, Blake almost sure a twisted grin hid beneath the visor. Blake couldn't form a single thought, let alone a single word. The only thing she was able to get out were ragged gasps of air as the black visor slowly tilted to her right. "What's the matter?" He proclaimed, almost like he was mocking her. "Are you not happy to see me?" He moved his visor to her right and whispered in her ear "I've been thinking about our match all day. Would you like to know why?"

Blake felt like she was going to have a panic attack since she was both unarmed… and only wearing a towel. "Go ahead." He whispered as his grip on her wrists tightened. "Ask me why." Blake stammered "W-w-w-why?"

"Because very few have beaten me… and none have lived to tell the tale."

Blake felt tears of pure fear run down her cheeks, almost certain Zer0 was going to kill her. He moved his head so that it was right in front of hers and questioned "What's the matter? Are you afraid?" Blake was still paralyzed with fear as the visor tilted one way, then slowly tilted the other like he was observing her. "What made you different from all of the others is one thing." He went on after a moment of silence. "One… little… tiny… detail." Blake couldn't say anything as she stared into the visor.

"All of the others were a lucky shot. A moment of distraction that costed me a large sum of money to respawn. But you… you knew. You knew EXACTLY where I was while I was cloaked." Zer0 exclaimed. "I want to know how you did it." There was a moment of silence between the two other than Blake's ragged gasps. Zer0 pinned her harder to the wall and barked "TELL ME!" Blake decided to simply tell him what he wanted to know instead of prolonging her end. "I'm a Faunus!" she was able to get out.

She recomposed herself and she felt Zer0's grip loosen on her wrists. "Of course." Zer0 mumbled as he let her go. "The speed, the agility… you knew where I was because… you _heard_ me move behind you." Blake was still against the wall as Zer0 stared out the window into the night sky. She slid her hands down and turned on the light. Zer0 turned back to her and exclaimed "A cat Faunus, I presume?"

Blake nodded her head, back still against the wall out of fear. "It all makes sense now." Zer0 mumbled. "No human could have beat me in a fair match." Blake finally composed herself and questioned "What do you mean human? Aren't you human?" Zer0 raised a hand and exclaimed "How many humans do you know have four fingers?"

"If you aren't human, then what are you?"

Zer0 sighed and answered "A mistake." Blake finally removed herself from the wall and asked "Can you… step outside? We'll talk more after I get dressed." Zer0 nodded and opened the window. She was going to ask he was doing when he jumped from the ledge. She ran over to the window and looked out to see Zer0 squatting on his blade that was stuck in the wall.

He looked up at her and exclaimed "I thought you were getting dressed?" Blake shook her head and closed the window, drawing the curtains to be sure Zer0 wouldn't sneak a peek at her. She quickly threw on her underwear and pajamas and opened the window for Zer0. He jumped through and sat on the dresser as Blake sat on her bed. They were quiet for a moment until Blake reached up and removed the bow from her ears, revealing them to Zer0.

He looked at her and proclaimed "Cute. I guess it's my turn." He reached up and undid the latches on his helmet. Blake felt her eyes go wide as he removed his helmet, revealing what truly laid beneath the helmet. He looked exactly like Velvet had described, handsome. His skin was pale and his hair was just a shade lighter while his eyes were a light blue.

He looked at her and proclaimed with a smile "Now we both know what we physically hide from the world." Blake couldn't help but smile, even though he seemed cold, the smile warmed her. "So what do you want to know?" Zer0 questioned as he looked at the ground. Thousands of questions swirled around in her head, but she found one and asked "What did you mean by you being a mistake?" Zer0 sighed "It's a long story, so buckle up."

"I am not exactly human in a manner of speaking. I wasn't born… I was created. There was a secret project done by the Maliwan Corporation to genetically engineer the perfect assassin. Instead to trying to make just one, they made ten. Each assassin held a special attribute that would eventually lead to the creation of the perfect assassin."

"On3, the perfect leader. Tw0, unimaginable speed. Thr3e virtually undetectable. F0ur, the greatest sword master. F1ve, an unmatched sniper. S1x, a genius. S3ven, master of deception and trickery. E1ght, unparalleled strength. Nin3, master tactician. And T3n, emotions so controlled she was nearly a machine."

"Each of them possessed an ability that made them unique and would give way to the greatest assassin. I was never supposed to be created, I was a mistake. I was found in the hazardous waste disposal, a byproduct of each assassin that was discarded. All of the other scientists left me to die… except one."

Blake interrupted "Hansen?" Zer0 smiled, but she could see the sadness in his eyes as he responded "Hansen. Maria Hansen was the one who saw potential in me. She is the one who pulled me from the waste and gave me life where the others gave me death."

"She raised me alongside the other assassins and trained me under each one, like she wanted me to be the perfect assassin. You could say that is why I'm obsessed with challenges since I could never beat my brothers or sisters. Everyone always listened to 0ne and ignored me completely. I was never as fast as Tw0, but I could keep pace with her. Thr3e would always pull pranks on me since I could never catch him, even though I slipped by him a few times."

"F0ur, she actually helped me become as good a swordsman as I am, but she was always better. F1ve would out snipe me with is eyes closed, even though I was still pretty good at it. S1x would tutor me, almost always calling me the dumbest of the dumb. S3ven would work with Thr3ee and pull pranks on me nonstop. E1ght, I think he just tolerated me since I didn't pick on him for being a block head. He was pretty cool once you got past the horrible temper he had."

"N1ne would help me with tactics since he was the best. I think he also saw potential in me, seeing that I wasn't held up to one standard like the rest of them. T3n just kept to herself, always alone… just the way she preferred. Each of them trained their specific skill while I tried to match each of them, but I was never good enough. Every other scientist, Klein, Moore, Valion, and Godfry, all of them looked down on me every time I failed and reminded me that I wasn't even supposed to exist, that I didn't even have a number."

"Hansen wouldn't shove me down like they did, she would help me back up and remind me of who I was, Zer0. The underdog of the entire project that would do great things."

Blake interrupted again "You must have really loved her." Zer0 proclaimed "I did. She was my mother basically. I still remember her reading me, E1ght and F0ur bedtime stories like we were her kids. The three of us we the closest out of all the assassins. The others thought it was stupid and pointless for us to be attached, but it ended up saving our lives."

"After seventeen years of training, we were discovered by the Atlas Corporation and they sent a small army to wipe the project out. They flooded the facility and killed anything that wasn't Crimson Lance, the military force. If it wasn't for F0ur and E1ght, I would have died on that day, but we couldn't save Hansen."

"What happened?"

Memories flooded Zer0's mind, bringing him back to that scarring day as he had to watch the woman that raised him die. A soldier raised his rifle as Zer0 jumped through the open and put half the mag into Hansen's chest. He swung his sword and sliced the first soldier in half, the other three pointing their rifles at him. F0ur flew out of the side door and sliced the head off the unsuspecting soldier near her. Zer0 plunged his blade into the chest of the one that killed his mother as the last Lanceman's head exploded. Zer0 immediately ran to Hansen's side and held her in his arms.

"No. NO!" Zer0 cried. "Please don't die! Just stay with us." The brunette woman in her forties looked up at Zer0 with a smile and weakly proclaimed "I'm sorry Zer0, but I can't stay much longer."

"No! Please! I can't lose you!"

"Go Zer0. Take F0ur and E1ght with you. They are your family. Go now and make me proud."

Her brown eyes darkened and closed, her last breath leaving her lips. Zer0 bellowed "No! Hansen NO!" He held the body of his mother close to him as F0ur put a hand on his shoulder. E1ght knelt down next to him and sighed "We have to go. She's gone Zer0, she's gone." Zer0 lowered the body of Hansen and stood up.

The three left the facility and swore never to cross paths again, each heading their own separate way. Zer0 looked to Blake to see her jaw practically on the floor. "Now you know my story." Zer0 sighed. She patted the spot next to her and ordered "Sit." Zer0 raised an eyebrow at her command as he followed it.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his shoulder. Zer0 slowly put his arms around the Faunus, unsure of what was happening. It dawned on him that she was comforting him since she made him retell the story of how a loved one died. She let him go and exclaimed "It seemed like you needed that." Zer0 replied "Thanks. Now what's your story?"

"You know about the White Fang?"

"I talked with Ruby and Weiss about it. Ruby said they were a group dedicated to Faunus equal rights, but Weiss called them a group of thieves and murderers."

"Well, they're both right. The White Fang originally was a group that worked for Faunus rights after the war. Peaceful protests, sit ins, petitions, almost everything that a normal group did, but it wasn't fast enough for some. There was a change in leadership… and a change in how we worked."

"We?" Zer0 repeated. "You were a part of the White Fang?" He looked at her cat ears and grumbled "Right. Faunus." Blake chuckled at his lapse in judgment as he questioned "So what happened?"

"We took more drastic measures. Vandalizing any store that refused Faunus service, attacked companies that abused Faunus labor, stole shipments."

"But that doesn't create respect or equality. It creates fear."

"Exactly. I couldn't handle it anymore, so I ran. Applied to Beacon and hid right under everyone's nose with the help of a little black bow."

It was quiet until Zer0 exclaimed "So those are your secrets. You are a Faunus and you used to be a part of a terrorist organization." Blake snapped "They aren't terrorists! They're just… misguided."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. I'm going to get something to eat."

He stood up and went for the door when Blake asked "See you around?" He turned back to her with a smile and replied "Of course you will. You're my new challenge, which reminds me." He walked back to the dresser and grabbed his helmet. "Almost forgot." He chuckled. "See you tomorrow." Blake expected him to leave through the window or the door, but what she didn't expect was Zer0 to lean down and kiss her forehead.

He smiled as he put on his helmet and walked out the door. Blake felt a massive blush creep across her face as she smiled. She laid on her bed and thought _"Could we really be something? He's an assassin after all… but I'm also an ex-White Fang. Maybe… maybe." _Thunder rumbled outside the window and Blake looked to see it start to rain. She chuckled to herself "Maybe the storm is dropping off more Vault Hunters."

Is that a little foreshadow I see there? If you think so then good for you, If not then good for you. Also another author shout out, just to be a bro.

Dr. Archangel, Carry on thy Fallen

A Borderlands story that takes place many years after the end of Borderlands 2. Follow the children and descendants of the Vault Hunters as they face a new and perilous evil takes hold on Pandora.

Roosterteethfanatic, RWBYA

Alexi Muratov is dropped into the world of RWBY by some unknown force. He must now fight to survive the world he once knew just as an internet series and face an unholy evil.

SOVIETxEAGLE, The World of RWBY

Devereaux Mercer was a normal guy on Earth, at least until he is thrown into the world of RWBY and cursed with the Devil Bringer's arm. Now he stands with Team RWBY against the wrath of the White Fang.

These are all stories that I have read and think are awesome, because they are. I suggest that anyone reading this should read these stories as well.

-Chief


	13. Chapter 13: Two Psychos and a Bot

Posting a bit early because I don't know when I'm getting home tomorrow, so I'll just post now.

Chapter 13: Two Psychos and a Bot

Blake walked through the halls of Beacon with her assassin shadow to her left. He had taken up following her in the name of 'observation', as Zer0 called it. Since she defeated him in combat, he considered her his new challenge and wanted to learn everything about her. "So does this 'observing' require you to follow me into the bathroom?" Blake questioned, putting emphasis on observing. "Not really." Zer0 answered. "But I will know if you sneak out. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

"No, I was just wondering in the event that I do."

A ": )" holo appeared on his helmet as he bumped her with his hip. She smiled at his action, especially since she knew he liked her. Blake even had to admit, she had a bit of a crush on the young man. "So do you know what we are doing today?" Zer0 questioned. "We were going into Forever Fall Forest." Blake answered.

"What for?"

"Maybe if you attended class yesterday, you would know."

She could tell Zer0 was rolling his eyes behind his visor as she chuckled. They entered the dining hall for lunch before they set out into Forever Fall. "Look who finally decided to show up!" Axton poked at. "If it ain't the ninja couple." Blake blushed and Zer0's helmet projecting the "####" holo. "We aren't a couple." Zer0 tried to explain. "Blake is my next challenge."

"Yeah, next challenge to nail!"

Axton and Yang shared a high five since both of them had jokes about the two stealth fighters. Blake sat down next to Yang while Zer0 sat next to Axton and was immediately joined by Maya. Maya put her arm around Zer0, practically giving Blake a sign saying 'He's mine'. Blake rolled her eyes as she opened her book, ignoring the glare she was receiving from Maya. Her team caught Zer0 walking out of their room and didn't hesitate to let the Vault Hunters know about it.

Maya assumed that Blake was moving in on Zer0 and made it a point to show that Zer0 was hers. The group ate, talked and joked until Ruby pointed out "That was some storm last night. Thought it would blow out our windows." Salvador laughed "Yeah! Maybe someone else figured a way here from Pandora!" Axton chuckled "Doubtful. Unless Gaige figured out a way to recreate the Vault Key transporting us here."

"Yeah, smart girl, but not that smart."

The Vault Hunters agreed and Weiss proclaimed "We should be leaving now. We don't want to keep Professor Port waiting." Everyone agreed and started making their way out of the school. Zer0 managed to escape Maya's hold and found his place next to Blake again. The group met with other students on the edge of Forever Fall Forest and Professor Port proclaimed "We are here today to test your tracking skills! There are four Beowolves with wreaths around their necks. Your job is to find these Beowolves and return the wreaths to me. You will do this with one partner of your choosing." Blake immediately looked to Zer0, who had put a hand on her shoulder.

Axton clapped Zer0's back and laughed "Why don't you go keep Maya company Zer0?" Blake could tell Zer0 was rolling his eyes under his helmet. "I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to Blake." Zer0 explained.

"Don't want your girlfriend to get hurt again?"

Blake giggled as Zer0 face palmed his helmet and groaned "You just hear what you want to hear, don't you?" Axton laughed as Yang called "Yo Axton! We going or what?" Axton replied "Sure thing. Catch you two love birds later." Axton and Yang headed off into the forest, probably just walking in one direction until they found something. Zer0 turned to Blake and questioned "What are we waiting for? We've got a Beowolf to hunt."

Blake nodded and the two shot into the forest in hunt of their prey. Maya sighed "What does he see in her?" She looked around and the only other person around was Weiss, who didn't seem too happy at the moment. Maya walked over to her and exclaimed "Looks like it is just you and me." Weiss looked at her and proclaimed "Indeed. Let us proceed."

Weiss started making her way into the forest with Maya right behind her. Ruby and Salvador ran through the forest in search of the wreathed Beowolves. Ruby was a little surprised that Salvador was keeping pace with her since she was so fast and he was so short. They ran for a bit until they reached a clearing occupied by a Deathstalker. It turned towards the two and screeched at them.

"Holy cow!" Salvador declared as he pulled out two small pistols. "What is that thing?" Ruby deployed Crescent Rose in its scythe form and answered "Deathstalker!" She shot to the side as the Grimm plunged its stinger into the ground. Salvador ran around the other side and fired his two pistols, one fire and the other normal. "This thing looks like a scallion!" Salvador shouted as he continued to shoot the beast.

"A what?"

"Same thing as this pendejo! Only they travel in packs!"

Ruby flew forward and stuck the Deathstalker, but her blade bounced off the Grimm's shell. She jumped back before one of its pincers could grab her. Salvador's pistols didn't seem to be doing much against the Grimm, only making it angrier. _"We're going to need a bigger gun."_ Ruby thought as she started putting sniper rounds into the beast. The next thing she knew, a rocket flew past her head and collided with the Deathstalker.

"Hell yeah!" Sal cheered as the Grimm recoiled. Ruby was going to thank Axton for that shot, but a robot flew out of the ground and slashed the Deathstalker's face. It squealed in pain, but all Ruby could here was a teenage voice shout "Don't mess with my bot sucka!" A girl in a jean jacket and skirt with red pigtails ran past her, firing an SMG shouting "ANARCHY!" Her bullets weren't even hitting the Deathstalker, which was preoccupied with the robot, but they would ricochet off of anything and bounce back at the Grimm.

Ruby was astounded at the girl that ruthlessly attacked the Deathstalker with her floating robot. "Looks like I was right!" Salvador cheered as he ran over to Ruby. "We have more Vault Hunters!" Ruby saw the robot part its arms and them slam them together at the center of the Deathstalker, creating an explosion that sent the Grimm into pieces. "I need to build you an extra set of arms just for high fives!" The girl cheered as the robot floated over to her. Now that the robot was still, Ruby could see it was pieced together using scrap metal.

A square head held a red light that served as an eye and a heart was painted on its chest. The girl turned and removed the goggles from her eyes to reveal green eyes that sparkled with joy. "Salvador! You're here!" She cheered as she ran over to him. "I did it! I freaking did it! I'm a goddamn genius!" She hugged the Gunzerker as she cheered "I can't believe I was able to recreate the Vault Key transporting you here!" Salvador laughed "You did it! That is awesome!"

"Good thing I downloaded the schematics for the device and a fast-travel station. Now I just have to put the devices together and we can go home!"

Ruby watched the two cheer at the thought of going home and added "That's great!" The girl turned towards her and raised her eyebrow. She turned back to Salvador and questioned "Who's this?" Salvador face palmed himself and exclaimed "Where are my manners? Ruby, this is Gaige the Mechromancer! Gaige, this is Ruby!" Gaige looked back at Ruby and smiled.

"Pleased to meet you Ruby." Gaige greeted. Ruby shook the girl's hand and noticed that it was completely robotic. Ruby was suddenly pulled towards Gaige and fell to the ground. "What was that for?" Ruby barked as she stood up. She turned to see Gaige holding Crescent Rose and inspecting it.

"Hey!" Ruby shouted as she lunged at Gaige, who promptly put an arm out to stop her. "Give it back! That's mine!" Gaige continued to inspect Ruby's weapon and asked "How does this weapon work?"

"You push a button to extend it."

Gaige let Ruby fall to the ground and extended it in its sniper form. "How do you get it to turn into a scythe?" Gaige questioned as she continued to inspect Crescent Rose. "Is it this button?" Gaige hit the right button and turned Crescent Rose into its scythe form. Ruby tried to take her weapon back but Gaige put her robotic arm around her and pulled her into a one armed hug. "Can you show me how to build something like this?" Gaige questioned as she eyeballed Crescent Rose. "I will be your best friend if you do."

"Sure… I guess."

"Because this thing is completely badass and you HAVE to be a badass to use it."

"Thanks?"

"Not a problem new best friend."

Salvador laughed "Now that that is out of the way, we still have a Beowolf to hunt down!" Gaige let go of Ruby and handed her Crescent Rose back. Ruby exclaimed "Let's go!" The new trio headed into the forest in search of their target.

O00000O00000O

Maya and Weiss were back to back with a horde of Beowolves surrounding them. "At least we found the wreathed Beowolf." Maya commented as she reloaded her Hellfire. Weiss noted the large Beowolf with the wreath around its neck. They tried attacking the beast before, but the other Beowolves protected it. But now they were in a dangerous position since neither of them had very good multi target skills in combat.

"Here." Maya proclaimed as she phase locked a Beowolf. "Let's bring them closer." Weiss was about to question her when the Beowolves all flew towards the one that was phase locked. Maya was about to start shooting when a Beowolf recovered and back handed her, sending her flying into the forest. Weiss hit a panicked state as the other Beowolves started to recover. She started to step backwards as the Beowolves moved towards her with teeth barred.

"_This is very VERY bad." _Weiss thought. One Beowolf lunged at her and she was prepared to block until something struck the Beowolf in the head. Weiss saw it looked something like a table saw blade shoved inside of a baseball bat, but the blade was spinning. Out of the forest she heard a gruff voice bellow "I HAVE THE SHINIEST MEAT BICYCLE!" A man charged out of the forest and ripped the blade from the Beowolf's head.

The man proceeded to slash and hack at the Beowolf with the ferocity of a Grimm until the beast was in pieces. The man turned to the remaining Grimm and bellowed "NOW THAT YOU ARE DEAD! YOUR FAMILY IS NEXT!" The Beowolves charged the man, who proceeded to hack and slash the Grimm into pieces. Weiss watch, mainly in horror, as the man that saved her life now tore Grimm into pieces. He was very built and only wore a pair of orange pants. His face was covered by a hockey mask that had a patch over one eye and some sort of air filter on it.

He grabbed a Beowolf's head and shouted "HOW CAN I SNAP YOUR NECK IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!?" He then proceeded to hack the Grimm's head off and then beat another with it, hollering "I'M GOING TO PUT MY PAIN INTO YOUR BODY!" Weiss took a step back as the psychopath slaughtered all but one Beowolf, the one with the wreath on it. "I'VE POWDERED MY COCKITIEL FOR THE RIBCAGE SLAUGHTER!" The psycho barked as he charged the beast. The Beowolf charged and swung at the man, sending him into a tree.

The man stood, but the wound was deep and bleeding profusely. "IF I DIE THEN WE ALL DIE!" The psycho shouted as he pulled out dynamite strapped together. He threw a few pack at the beast, severely injuring it. The man was on top of the Beowolf and held the dynamite in the air, blowing the two of them up. Weiss was positive she just watched a man kill himself, until the smoke cleared and the man stood tall without a scratch on him.

He looked to her with his single eye filled with bloodlust and started walking towards her.

Krieg's inner voice exclaimed _"She just watched us slaughter these monsters and blow ourselves up. Let's say something nice to show her we aren't a monster. Try telling her she's pretty." _Krieg tried to gather his mind and shouted "YOUR BEAUTY BURNS WITH THE INTENSITY OF ATHOUSAND FLAMING PSYCHOS!"The small white haired girl replied "Um, thank you?" Krieg's inner voice groaned _"Close enough."_ Krieg shouted "THE SNOW CHILD IS WELCOME! NOW WHERE IS PRETTY SIREN LADY!?"

"Do you mean Maya?"

"YES! AND THE NUMBER MAN SHOULD BE CLOSE BY!"

"I'm assuming you mean Zer0?"

"YES! DO YOU KNOW MY MURDER BUDDIES!?"

The girl seemed like she was about to say something when Maya stumbled out of the bushes and cheered "Krieg! You're here!" She ran over and hugged him. "YES PRETTY SIREN LADY! THE SMALL CHILD FLEW US HERE WITH HER LIGHT MACHINE!" Maya let him go and questioned "Small child? Do you mean Gaige?"

"YES! SHE BUILT A DOOR MACHINE THAT BROUGHT US HERE!"

"Gaige built a… a machine that creates a doorway here?"

"YES! SHE HAS NOT SLEPT UNTIL IT WAS FINISHED!"

The white haired girl shouted "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Maya turned and answered "This is my friend Krieg. He came here with our friend Gaige, who may have the way for us to get home. Krieg, this is a new friend, Weiss." Krieg's inner voice advised _"Try and say her name and not Snow Child. Weiss, say it with me. Weeeeiiisss." _That is what the inner voice wanted to say, what Krieg actually said was "SNOW CHILD!"

"_Close, but not really."_

"That's the best we are going to do. What happened to the Beowolf with the wreath?" Maya questioned. "IT NOW SLUMBERS IN THE ETERNAL VOID!" Krieg bellowed.

"It's dead… isn't it?"

"IN MILLIONS OF TINY PIECES!"

"Awesome. I vote we head back with what we can salvage."

Weiss went over to the charred corpse of the Beowolf and picked up what was left of the wreath. "We are not going back empty handed." She declared. Maya and Krieg shrugged and the trio started heading back.

**A/N:** There, Krieg and Gaige are in the story now. HAPPY? I was planning on adding them anyway, but I just wanted to give them a way there. Thoughts on ANYTHING, hit me up with a PM, or my personal preference, a review. Suggestions and criticism are also appreciated, but remember the line between criticism and hating.

-Chief


	14. Chapter 14: Planning

From the reviews I got, all of you thought Krieg was hilarious (which he is). There will be plenty of Krieg moments in this chapter, along with other stuff. Also posting early because of work again.

Chapter 14: Planning

Weiss, Maya and Krieg returned to Professor Port, who seemed surprised by the new member of the group. "And who might this be?" Professor Port questioned. Krieg's inner voice exclaimed _"Let's just say our name and not scream about blood, murder or death." _Krieg bellowed "I AM THE SENITENT COLLECTION OF HATRED AND MURDER!"

"_God dammit. Can you even hear me?"_

"DO THE VOICES EVER STOP!?"

"_Huh, apparently you can hear me… you should listen more often."_

"His name is Krieg." Maya introduced. "His is one of our friends from Pandora." Professor Port raised an eyebrow and watched Krieg twitch as he had his internal argument. "Will he be a safety hazard to the other students?" Professor Port questioned. Maya looked at Krieg to see his head stop twitching and replied "We'll keep an eye on him." Weiss handed Professor Port the remains of the wreath and explained "Krieg got a hold of the Beowolf. This was all we could recover."

Professor Port looked back at Krieg to see him tapping his head with his buzz saw and exclaimed "It is amazing that anything could be recovered. This will do." Weiss returned to her group and exclaimed "We're lucky that we survived." Maya retorted "We would have done fine if Krieg hadn't shown up."

"Doubtful."

"SNOW CHILD AND PRETTY LADY CAN BRING THE SLAUGHTER OF THE DARK ONES!"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose as Maya laughed "See? Krieg agrees with me." Professor Port proclaimed "Looks like we have another skilled pair!" The group looked to see Yang and Axton walking up with a wreath in hand. Yang held her prize in the air and shouted "Who's badass? We are!" Axton agreed "Hell yeah!"

Yang handed Port the wreath and joined the group. "Hey there Krieg!" Axton greeted as he held out his hand to the psycho. "How the hell did you get here?" Krieg barked "HELLO SOLDIER MAN! LITTLE GIRL BRING US HERE WITH MACHINE!"

"Gaige got you guys here? Holy shit I didn't think she could do it."

Weiss questioned "How can you understand him? He does nothing but shout incoherent nonsense!" Maya responded "You just have to sift through the crazy to find the actual meaning of the sentence." Weiss just seemed to be getting annoyed by Krieg, but Yang walked up to Krieg and held out her hand. "Hi there Krieg." Yang greeted. "I'm Yang." Krieg looked at her hand and then back at her.

Krieg's inner voice advised _"Say her name. Yang, it's easy. Yang."_ Krieg bellowed "GREETINGS BUSTY SUN CHILD!"

"_I cannot believe that you just called her busty sun child."_

Yang smirked and replied "Busty Sun Child? Can't say you're too far off."

"_What is wrong with this place?"_

"I gotta say, never pictured you as… big as you are Krieg." Yang admitted. "YOU HAVE NICE BOOBIES!" Krieg bellowed. Krieg's inner voice groaned _"Why? Why did you feel the need to say that?"_ Yang giggled "Why thank you. You are very built."

"THANK YOU BUSTY SUN CHILD!"

"Can we please make this stop?" Axton groaned. "After everything I have experienced in my life, this is making me the most uncomfortable I have ever been." Everyone laughed until they heard Gaige shout "Krieg! You made it! And you found everyone else!" They turned to see Gaige, Ruby and Salvador coming out of the forest with Gaige in the lead. She jump hugged Axton and cheered "I can't believe you guys are actually here!" Axton laughed "Yeah, we can't believe you and Krieg are here."

"I know. I got a machine up and running that made a portal similar to the event the Vault Key created."

"We know, Krieg told us in his own way."

Gaige looked at Yang and Weiss and introduced "Hey there you two. I'm Gaige, a friend to the rest of these guys. Who are you?"

"Yang. Nice to meet you."

"Weiss, a pleasure."

Gaige replied "Ooooooo. What are we? A princess?" Maya replied "Heiress actually. She is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation.

"Corporation? EEEEEVIIIIIIIILLLLL!"

All of the Vault Hunters laughed while Team RWBY looked at each other, confused at what was so funny. "Sorry." Gaige apologized. "Normally a corporation just wants what is best for it and screws over a lot of people." Weiss replied "We are nothing like that."

"Whatever princess."

"Do NOT call me that."

"Why princess? Does it make her majesty angry?"

Salvador groaned "This is going to end horribly." Maya sparked up and practically cheered "Looks like Zer0's back!" Everyone looked to the tree line to see Zer0 with a wreath and Blake walking out. Gaige practically tackled Zer0 and cheered "Zeery!" Zer0 chuckled "Hello to you too Gaige."

"Wait… that was six. You messed up!"

Zer0 sighed as a "FML" holo appeared on his helmet "I didn't mess up. I just don't talk in haiku that often." Gaige groaned "Lame! I thought I finally caught you when you slipped up for the first time." Blake commented "I actually caught him the first time he slipped up."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Blake, Zer0's new challenge."

She bumped Zer0 with her hip, causing him to display a "####" holo on his helmet. "I'm guessing you are Gaige." Blake continued. Gaige replied "Have they been talking about me?"

"Axton said you have a crush on Zer0."

"DAMMIT AXTON! I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE FOR THAT!"

Gaige immediately charged Axton, who quickly started to run away from the violent teen. "Stop telling people I have a crush on Zer0!" She barked as she chased the commando. "But you do!" Axton laughed.

"DO NOT!"

"Do too!"

"That's gross! He's my brother!"

Axton finally stopped running as Gaige caught up to him, panting like a dog. "You… big… jerk." She panted as she lazily hit Axton's chest. "Zer0's your brother?" Blake questioned. "Yeah," Gaige replied as she caught her breath. "Me and Zer0 are like family. Not actual family, but close enough."

"Really?"

Gaige raised an eyebrow and then smirked when she looked at the two ninjas. "Is there something else going on between you two?" Gaige questioned. "Blake is my challenge. She isn't really a dating option." Zer0 answered. Everyone noticed two things, but didn't point it out. One was Maya's eyes light up seeing her competition for Zer0 drop to one person, and two was Blake's look become a little sad.

Zer0 walked over to Professor Port and handed off the wreath. Gaige slid over to Blake and questioned "What did you mean by Zer0's new challenge?" Blake answered "I beat Zer0 in a fight and now he's doing everything he can to learn everything about me so he can beat me."

"You? Beat Zer0? And you're still alive?"

"Yes. I've been told that he has killed those who killed him."

"Yeah, must be something about you he likes."

Blake looked at the red haired teen with a raised eyebrow. Zer0 walked back to the group and questioned "So how did you and Krieg get here?" Gaige replied "I built a machine that recreated the event that the Vault Key created."

"Amazing. Do you think you could do it again?"

"Possibly. If I can do what I did before then we should be able to get home in the next few days."

A "?" appeared as Zer0 questioned "Gaige, when was the last time you slept?" Zer0 noticed that there were bags under her eyes and she seemed a bit jittery. "I haven't slept in for a few days but I'm…" Gaige trailed off as she hit the ground. She immediately started to snore, causing everyone to laugh. Zer0 picked up Gaige and went to Professor Port. "Can I return my friend to Beacon? I think she has deprived herself of sleep." Zer0 questioned. "Very well." Professor Port answered.

"Blake, would you kindly come with me?"

Blake shrugged and walked with her assassin competitor. They made their way to Zer0's room and Zer0 set her on his bed. Zer0 slipped his helmet off and sighed "I'm actually starting to get used to not wearing my helmet." Blake replied "Okay. I'm going back now." She was about to walk out of the room when Zer0 grabbed her hand. "Can I ask you a question?" Zer0 asked.

"What?" Blake responded, not exactly interested in what he had to ask. "Me and the other Vault Hunters are going to see what the museum exhibit about the Eridians holds and I wanted to know if you wanted to come with us." Zer0 asked.

"You want me to go with you to a museum? Why?"

"Well… because… I… uh…"

Blake turned to see Zer0 extremely red faced and pushing his pointer fingers together as he continued to stammer. "Oh my god." Blake gasped out loud. "You're asking me out on a date!" Zer0's face was nearly as red as Gaige's hair as he admitted "I guess I am. I… I…" Zer0 took a deep breath and practically blurted "I really like you and think you're pretty and you're an awesome fighter and I think you're really attractive and…" Blake put a finger to Zer0's lips and questioned "Why did you say that I wasn't a dating option?"

"Because I don't want to just shatter Maya's heart in public like that. I know I'm going to have to eventually since I like you in a romantic way and not her. I just want to do it in a private setting."

Blake was screaming in joy internally that the assassin liked her and was asking her out. "Tell you what." Blake exclaimed, containing herself. "After the museum, we can go and see a movie and I show you around town. How does that sound?" Zer0 smiled a wide smile and replied "Sounds perfect." Blake smiled and wrapped Zer0 in a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt Zer0's arms wrap around her and he sighed "I'm glad that the Vault Key brought me here."

"Me too. Maybe that was what the key wanted?"

"Doubtful, but it's a nice thought."

She let up on her hug and was instantly met with Zer0's lips on her forehead like he did before. She felt her face light up as he removed his lips from her and saw his face was the same as hers. Blake smiled and exclaimed "I'm going to head back to the group. You can stay here with Gaige to make sure she's okay." Zer0 replied "Okay. See you soon."

"Bye."

Blake walked out of Zer0's room with the largest smile on her face as she screamed in her head _"We have a date! I can't believe it! We have a date!" _Blake only saw one problem with the two of them together, a certain blue haired Siren that was in love with Zer0. Blake pondered what to do about her, but was too excited about her and Zer0. She continued to walk down the hall with a smile on her face as she headed back to the group.


	15. Chapter 15: Meet Everybody

So, I really didn't need to update on Thursday since my update days are Saturday and Wednesday. But, I'm going to update again anyway.

Chapter 15: Meet Everybody

Zer0 walked through the halls with his arm around Blake since they were alone. The two decided to try and keep their relationship a secret until they found a way to tell everyone without causing a crisis. Blake wanted it to work between them and she knew Zer0 did too. They were about to enter to dining hall when they stopped and separated from each other. Zer0 lifted his helmet and kissed Blake's forehead, causing her to blush.

"You really need to stop doing that before we go somewhere." Blake exclaimed, waiting for her cheeks to return to their normal color. "If someone sees then we'll probably get caught."

Zer0 replied "Would that really be a bad thing? We both really like each other and want to be together."

"Yes, but you are the cold assassin that tortured a Beowolf and threatened to kill Cardin."

"True, we'll have to think that through."

"Oh, and one thing."

Blake looked around and whispered "If Maya tries anything and I mean ANYTHING, I'm blowing our secret and knocking her out." Zer0 laughed and replied "Understood."

"Good. Let's go, I think I'm good."

The two walked into the dining hall for breakfast to find it sparsely populated. Zer0 and Blake each grabbed something for breakfast and saw Velvet eating by herself. They sat down across from her and she cheered "Hey Zer0! I haven't seen you for a while." Zer0 chuckled "Yeah, I've been a little busy with my new challenge."

"What new challenge?"

"Blake."

Velvet tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "I beat Zer0 in a fight and now he want to learn everything about me." Blake explained. Velvet questioned "So you two are basically dating?" Zer0 knew the "####" holo appeared and Blake's face turned red as they both stammered. "It's okay if you two are dating." Velvet exclaimed as she ate her eggs. "You two seem like a good match." Zer0 slid his helmet up and started to eat his waffles.

"Don't tell anyone." Blake asked. "We haven't figured out how to tell anybody." Velvet giggled and replied "I won't tell anyone. Promise." Zer0 thanked "Thank you Velvet. You're a good friend." Velvet muttered "Kinda wanted to be more than a friend."

"What!?"

"It was a joke! I like you as a friend Zer0, that's all."

Zer0 sighed in relief "That's good. It's hard enough dealing with Maya, I just didn't want to add you to the list of heart break." Velvet giggled "I know, I just thought it would be a funny joke. You and Blake are cute together." Blake replied "Thank you Velvet. What were your plans for today?"

"Nothing really."

"Why don't you come with us to the museum today? It could help steer some unwanted attention away from me and Zer0."

"Sure! I'll help anyway I can, plus I wanted to go see the new exhibit anyway. No one really wanted to go with me."

Zer0 smiled and exclaimed "Don't worry, you can come with us. That's what friends do." Velvet lit up and replied "Thank you Zer0. You are just the greatest friend ever. Who is that?" Zer0 and Blake turned to see a practically zombified Gaige dragging her feet into the hall. She went to the buffet and grabbed a bowl of cereal. Zombie Gaige dragged herself to their table and mindlessly ate her cereal.

"Hey there Gaige." Zer0 greeted. "How are you feeling?" Gaige's half opened eyes slowly rolled to look at Zer0 and she just grunted. She looked back at her cereal with her blank stare and continued to eat. "Hi there Gaige." Velvet greeted. "I'm Velvet, a friend of Zer0." Gaige's eyes rolled to Velvet and pointed out "You have rabbit ears."

Velvet sighed "Yes. I have rabbit ears."

"That is fucking adorable."

"Thank you?"

Gaige managed a weak smile and continued to eat her cereal. Everyone continued their breakfast until Velvet noticed Professor Ozpin walked over to them. "Good morning to all of you." He greeted. "I do not believe I have met you yet." Gaige lazily turned towards him and reached out to him. She took the mug of coffee he was carrying and took a drink from it.

She handed it back to him and exclaimed "Needs more cream." Gaige rubbed her eyes and continued "My name is Gaige the Mechromancer. I arrived here the night before last in the storm, the same way my friends did."

"Interesting, and how did you arrive here? From what your friends have told me is that the Vault Key transported them here. And seeing as they have it I can assume that you have a different method."

"Yes sir. I created a device back on Pandora that recreated the event that brought my friends here. If I can build the device or a fast-travel station with the range to Pandora, then we can return home."

"I see, and how long will this task take?"

"I doubt I'll be able to pull another three day straight work session, so it might take two weeks at the most."

"Very well. There is no rush to your work. It is enjoyable to see how others from different planets react to new environments. I will leave you to your breakfast. Good day to all of you."

Professor Ozpin walked out of the dining hall, leaving them to their breakfast. "Who was he?" Gaige questioned, the coffee obviously waking her up. "That was Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of the school." Velvet informed.

"I probably shouldn't have taken his coffee then."

"Probably not."

Gaige shrugged and continued to eat her cereal, more awake then before. Zer0 finished his breakfast and slid his helmet back down. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him and Maya exclaimed "Good morning Zer0. Up early, as usual." Zer0 looked out the corner of his eyes to see Blake with a scowl on her face. _"Not now Blake." _He thought as Maya let him go. _"Don't lose it now." _

Blake managed to restrain herself from punching Maya in the face, she knew that she would have to confront Maya eventually. Blake finished her omelet and exclaimed "So, I've heard that you and the other Vault Hunters are going to the museum today." Maya questioned "Yes, we are."

"Okay, is it okay if Velvet and I accompany you? Both of us have wanted to see the new exhibit."

"I guess so."

Zer0 smirked beneath his helmet and Blake held back her smile until Maya walked off. Blake turned to Zer0 and whispered "We need to tell everyone." Zer0 responded "Is now really the best time?"

"Well I can't just sit by while she has her hands all over you."

"Just… give it time. We'll be able to get through this."

Velvet whispered "Would you two like my advice on this?" Both of them responded at the same time "No." Maya returned with a plate of French toast and questioned "Blake, could you scoot over?" Blake replied "I'm pretty sure that Zer0 doesn't want his challenge more than an arm's reach away from him. Isn't that right, Zer0?" Zer0 responded "That is true. I don't need you trying to sneak away from me."

Maya shrugged and sat next to Velvet since Gaige was on the other side of Zer0. Axton, Krieg and Salvador joined the group for breakfast after a few minutes. "Morning." Axton grumbled, he was not a morning person. "Good morning Axton." Velvet greeted. "Morning Salvador. I haven't met you yet." Krieg lifted his head up and bellowed "HAPPY RISING OF THE YELLOW ORB BUNNY GIRL!" Krieg's inner voice groaned _"Would good morning really be that difficult to say?"_

"What's your name? I'm Velvet." She introduced. _"Please just say our name."_ Krieg's inner voice pleaded. Krieg shook his head and grumbled in a calmer tone "I… am… Krieg." Everyone was surprised that Krieg didn't bellow his name. He turned to them and bellowed "I DEVOUR THE UNBORN!" Krieg proceeded to pick up his plate of scrambled eggs and slammed his face into it.

"_Alright, I'll take that moment of sanity."_ Krieg's inner voice proclaimed. Zer0 noticed Team JNPR entered the dining hall. They grabbed their breakfast and joined the Vault Hunters, Blake and Velvet. "Morning everyone." Pyrrha greeted. Most of the Vault Hunters grumbled while Gaige greeted "Good morning. I'm Gaige."

"Pyrrha."

Jaune introduced "My name is Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you Gaige. This is Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Ren smiled and nodded while Nora greeted in her usual fashion "Gooooood morniiiiing!" Krieg bellowed "LOUD CHILD MAKES MY HEAD HURT!"

"Who are you?"

"I AM THE STRIPPER OF FLESH AND THE DETONATER OF EVIL!"

"That is awesome! What weapon do you use? I know each of you Vault Hunters carry something special."

"I HAVE THE SHINIEST MEAT BICYCLE!"

Krieg pulled out his buzz saw, still bloody from the Beowolves. "I bet that thing has killed a lot of monsters." Nora proclaimed. "This is Magnhild." She pulled out her grenade launcher and showed it off. _"Dear god that thing is beautiful!" _Krieg's inner voice declared. "YOUR BOOM STICK PLEASES ME!" Krieg bellowed.

"I thought it would." Nora proclaimed proudly. "Maybe we can make you one." Salvador immediately exclaimed "Bad idea." Ren calmly added "I have to agree with Salvador. Krieg doesn't seem to have the best control over himself." Nora looked to Krieg to see him bash himself in the side of the head with his Meat Bicycle. _"Stop it. You can't get rid of me like that." _Krieg's inner voice declared, causing Krieg to stop.

"Nonsense!" Nora shouted. "He seems like he's in perfect control!" Krieg's inner voice groaned _"If only she knew."_ Gaige added "Ruby said she'd help me make a weapon like hers. Why can't Krieg have one?" Axton explained "Because Krieg is a psycho that needs to be babysat. The last thing we need to give him is a grenade launcher."

"I'm still getting my weapon."

Zer0 chuckled at the conversation since he remained silent to listen. He felt Blake's foot slide up his leg, getting his attention. He looked out the corner of eye to see her with a smile on her face as she read from her book. He couldn't help but smile at the beautiful woman next to him. "Zer0." Ren called in his usual calm tone. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Zer0 responded.

"Where did you learn you fighting skills?"

"They were taught to me at a young age. I was trained to be an assassin."

It wasn't a total lie, it was just missing a few pieces. "You have tremendous skill. It is very impressive." Ren complimented. "Thank you. I'm sure your fighting skill would put me to the test." Zer0 replied. Maya interjected "I'm sure that Ren would be able to beat you in a fight."

"Doubtful."

Ren smiled and exclaimed "We will have to have a match in the future to determine that." Blake added "Maybe there is another who can challenge you Zer0." Zer0 replied "Maybe, but let me deal with my first challenge." Blake rolled her eyes as Zer0 nudged her with his elbow. Axton exclaimed "Alright, let's get moving. We have to go see if that exhibit holds anything about how we got here."

All of the Vault Hunters nodded and stood up, and so did Velvet and Blake. "Looks like we have company." Salvador chuckled. "The more the merrier!" Velvet and Blake smiled as they followed the Vault Hunters out of the school.


	16. Chapter 16: Museum

Chapter 16: Museum

The Vault Hunters and friends rode the air ship into town, each talking about whatever they felt. Zer0 talked with Blake and Velvet mainly, even though Maya constantly tried to get his attention. Gaige leaned over to Axton and whispered "What's up with Zer0? Why isn't he acting the same as when we were on Pandora?" Axton responded "Zer0's just… getting in touch with himself. He's acting how he wants to be, not what we want him to be."

"So now he's suddenly more social?"

"Yep. Right, you haven't seen Zer0 without his helmet yet."

Axton called "Hey Zer0! Gaige and Krieg haven't seen your face yet!" Zer0 nodded and pulled his helmet off of his head. Gaige's jaw dropped and Krieg bellowed "NUMBER MAN IS WHITE LIKE SNOW CHILD!" Gaige proclaimed "Holy shit Zer0! Why didn't this come up before?" Zer0 shrugged and replied "I don't know. I just felt more open."

"That's cool. Anything else you care to tell us?"

Three dots appeared one at a time to symbolize him thinking and he replied "Not that I can think of." The airship finally landed and the group headed to the museum with Blake and Velvet leading the way. The museum looked like a typical museum with marble columns and white walls. The museum was free so they all walked in and started searching for the Eridian exhibit. Axton suggested "I think we should split up until we find the exhibit. Message when you find it."

Maya was going to ask Zer0 to go with her, but him, Blake and Velvet were already making their way into the museum. Maya sighed "Why do they hang around him so much?" She looked around to see it was just her and Krieg, who seemed like he was trying to smile. May couldn't help but smile and exclaimed "Come on Krieg. Let's see what brought us here." Krieg nodded and the two set off into the museum.

Zer0, Blake and Velvet walked through the section of the First Grimm war, which was completely deserted. Blake and Zer0 walked hand in hand and would constantly exchange glances. Velvet saw this and exclaimed "I'll give you two some time alone." She picked up her pace and turned a corner, leaving the two alone. Zer0 was going to say something to Blake, when he was suddenly pinned to the wall.

Her face was a little more than an inch from his visor and he knew the "####" holo was there. "My, how the tables have turned." Blake whispered to him. She slid her hands down and removed his helmet, then placed it on the floor. He wrapped his arms around Blake and pulled him close to her. She rested her head on his shoulder and the two simply held the embrace.

"Hey Zer0," Blake exclaimed "why did you just pour out your feelings to me yesterday?" Zer0 explained "Well, I saw that you were a little upset that I said that I didn't see you as a dating option. I just didn't want to miss my chance with you." Blake smiled and nuzzled his neck a bit. The two held the embrace with smiles on their faces. Axton, Gaige and Salvador looked around and were having a bit of trouble finding the exhibit.

"So what do you guys think about Blake and Zer0?" Gaige questioned. "They're dating." Axton exclaimed. "Definitely." Salvador agreed.

"There is no way a guy follows a girl around like that unless they are dating."

"That's what I thought." Gaige exclaimed. "Is that the exhibit?" The two looked over at the doorway Gaige was pointing at with a sign over it reading "The Lost Civilization." Axton exclaimed "Looks like we found it. I'll send a mass message." Axton pulled out his scroll and sent a message to everyone detailing where to find the exhibit. Everyone arrived within minutes.

The group moved into the room, which was bigger than the hall in Beacon. There were partial Eridian statues lining the walls with arches going between them. Several blocks were stacked around the bases of the statues with plaques explaining the guessed purposes. "Amazing." Velvet gasped as she stared up at the massive statues. "Yeah, but none of these explains how we got here." Maya exclaimed.

They continued to walk down the hall until Blake pointed out "What about that?" She was pointing to a glass case with a ball in it. There were lines on it like on the blocks and Zer0 proclaimed "It looks like it would fit in the Vault Key. Could this be the tool that brought us here?" A deep, dark voice grumbled in the heads of the Vault Hunters **"Yes… my champions have arrived."**

Zer0 clutched the sides of his head and dropped to his knees. The voice resonated through his entire body, making him weak and pounding in his head. Zer0 looked to the other Vault Hunters to see them on the ground, the same as he was. **"You will free me." **The voice commanded. **"It is the reason you have come here. It is the reason I have summoned you here. My time has come."** Zer0 was writhing from the pain in his head as the dark voice spoke.

Krieg was banging his head with his buzz saw to stop the voices as his inner voice cried _"It's too crowded in here! Get out!"_ Gaige was pulling her pigtails down and cried "Make it stop!" Axton was on his back and shouted "Where are you? You bastard show yourself!" The voice grumbled **"I cannot reveal myself to you because I am imprisoned. The sphere you see before you will give the Vault Key new properties. It will release me from my prison."** Maya was practically rolling on the ground and screamed "Why should we? You're imprisoned!"

"**When you humans rose to power, I was locked away as proof to the other Eridians that we were no longer the dominant race in the galaxy. They fled to another dimension, leaving me here. I have waited millennia to once again be free of my binds."**

Salvador bellowed through the pain "Why should we? How can we know you won't pull something?"

"**Once I am free, I will be leaving your guttural dimension and return to my own people. I have no desire to remain here with you lowly humans. The instant I am free, I will return you to your world. It is as simple as that."**

Gaige shouted "Just make it stop!"

"**Retrieve the sphere and combine it with the Vault Kay. It will point the way."**

None of the Vault Hunters could handle the pain anymore and they all passed out from the pain. Zer0 woke up staring at a white ceiling and laying in a bed. He sat up and ran his hand along his visor. He looked around to see he was in a hospital with Blake asleep in a chair to his right by the window. He slid his helmet off and ran his fingers through his hair.

"_I would rather not do that again."_ He thought as he sighed. He looked back at Blake and a smile slid across his face. _"She's just… so beautiful. She looks so peaceful."_ He thought. He sat on the edge of the bed and got out. He took a knee and lightly dragged his fingertips across her cheek.

She stirred and her eyes slowly opened to reveal the eyes Zer0 thought resembled small sunsets. "Hey there." Zer0 greeted. She smiled and lazily replied "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Better than I did before. What happened after we passed out?"

"Me and Velvet found someone and called an ambulance. They brought all of you here and called Professor Ozpin. All of you have been out for a while, it's nearly 4."

"Damn. How are you feeling? You and Velvet didn't seem to be effected."

"I'm fine. Kinda had a small freak out when you passed out, but other than that I'm fine."

Zer0 smiled and she hugged him, exclaiming "I'm so happy you're okay." He wrapped his arms around her and comforted her. Blake finally let him and he stood up, questioning "Have any of the others woken up yet?" Blake shrugged and answered "I've been by your side the entire time."

"Then let's go check and see."

Zer0 slid his helmet back on and held his hand out to Blake. She smiled and took his hand, allowing him to lift her to her feet. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his helmet. A ": )" appeared on his visor and Zer0 chuckled "Let's go see how the others are doing." The two walked out of room and started walking through the hospital.

Zer0 peered into one room and saw Maya sitting in a bed, reading a book. "There's Maya." Zer0 pointed out. "Let's see how she's doing." Zer0 reached for the handle when Blake caught his wrist. He looked to her to see her eyes burning like fire. "I am not going in there." She practically hissed.

"Why?"

"I… I just can't stand being in the same room as her. She brushes me off every time I try and talk to her, probably because she thinks I'm trying to steal you from her."

"That makes sense. I'm still going to go see how she's doing since she's my friend."

"Alright, but remember, I will blow our cover if she tries anything."

"Right."

"I'll go check on the others."

Blake kissed the side of his helmet again and continued walking down the hall. _"Didn't peg Blake for the jealous type."_ Zer0 thought. He opened the door and walked in to Maya's delight. "Zer0! It's so good to see you!" Maya cheered as Zer0 pulled up a seat. "Good to see you too." Zer0 exclaimed.

Maya reached out and took his hand as she proclaimed "I'm glad that you came to see me Zer0." Zer0 thought _"I seriously don't want to hurt her, but it's going to have to happen eventually. Eventually… not now."_ Zer0 exclaimed "What are friends for?" Zer0 could see the ping in her gut as she replied "Right, friends." Zer0 knew exactly where this was going, the same place it always went.

"Maya," Zer0 sighed. "Just one date." Maya urged.

"Maya."

"That's all I'm asking for Zer0, one date."

"You know how I feel about you."

Maya huffed and laid down, grumbling "You could at least give me a chance." Zer0 sighed "You are a very sweet girl Maya, but…" He trailed off since he really wasn't sure what to tell her. The truth that he was dating Blake behind everyone's back? Yeah, that will end well. "But?" Maya repeated.

"But I'm not looking for a relationship." He lied. _"I'm a fucking moron."_ He thought. _"How is this going to work when me and Blake reveal our relationship? For a brilliant assassin, I can be pretty fucking stupid." _Maya didn't really seem happy with his answer, but she smiled and exclaimed "Alright Zer0, you aren't looking for a relationship… but when you are, you know where to find me." She winked at him and picked her book back up. Zer0 questioned "What if I want to ask someone else out?"

All he was doing was testing the waters a bit, which was a terrible idea. Maya immediately barked "It had better not be that Blake bitch!" A "!" holo appeared on his helmet and he replied "Where did _that_ come from?"

"Sorry, I just can't stand her! She's always hanging around you and it seems like she's flirting with you and it just irks me!"

"_Fuck. This just got a little bit… okay, A LOT worse. I should probably stop before anything gets out of hand."_

"Relax, I'm not asking anyone out anytime soon." Zer0 lied again. "Blake is just a challenge to be completed, that's all." Maya seemed to calm down and replied "Sorry again, I know you two are becoming good friends and I should try and be friends with her too. I can handle Velvet since I know you two are just friends, but it just seems like Blake has something else on her agenda with you."

"We're just friends."

"Okay, good."

"Yeah, I'm just going to see how everyone else is doing."

Zer0 got up from his seat and walked out the door. He walked in the hallway thinking _"We can't keep this a secret much longer. Blake and I have to tell everyone that we are together. We shouldn't have to hide this. We'll tell everyone soon… soon."_


	17. Chapter 17: Busted

Chapter 17: Busted

Zer0 and Blake sat in the male Vault Hunter's room, since two more had joined their team Ozpin allowed them another room. Naturally, Maya and Gaige claimed one room and left the other room to the guys. All of the other Vault Hunters had made plans for their Saturday, leaving Blake and Zer0 some time alone. The two had dated a week and still managed to keep it a secret. Blake sat in Zer0's bed and read from a book while Zer0 played on a new hand held system he recently purchased and sat in a chair with his feet on his bed.

"_Good thing my funds came with me when I got to this planet."_ Zer0 thought as he easily finished a puzzle in his game. _"Too bad this game provides no challenge to me."_ He played a little more before his gaze lifted to his girlfriend. He smiled and thought _"She's so beautiful. There isn't an inch on her that isn't beautiful."_ His eyes started from her sleek legs, slowly moving to her amazing body. Zer0 had to admit that he was practically undressing her in his head.

His gaze reach her gorgeous black hair that fell past her shoulders, then his eyes rested on the amber sunsets that were Blake's eyes. Their gazes met and the two simply smiled at one another. "Enjoying the view?" Blake questioned. Zer0 chuckled "You know I am. You are just so beautiful." She raised her book to hide her blush and giggled "You're ridiculous."

Zer0 returned to his game while Blake still had her face buried in her book. Blake peered over her book and stared at her assassin boyfriend. She was amazed how far they had come together, what started as a challenge blossomed into a relationship. "Hey Zer0." Blake called. "Can I ask you something?" Zer0 replied "Sure."

"If you could do anything, other than being an assassin, what would you do?"

Zer0 closed his gaming system and scratched his chin in thinking. "I don't know." He replied. "Never really thought about it. I'd probably travel." Blake responded "Travel? Don't you do that as an assassin?"

"Yeah, but that was for work. I would travel for enjoyment, you know? See the world without having to kill someone. Try exotic foods, meet exotic people that I don't have to kill. Normal stuff."

"Anything else?"

Zer0 turned a little red and scratched the back of his head as he replied "There is one thing, but it's pretty embarrassing." Blake lowered her book and questioned "What?"

"Kiss a girl."

Blake threw a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "It's not funny!" Zer0 cried as he crossed his arms like a child. Blake suppressed her laughter and asked "You've never kissed a girl?"

"I'm an assassin, I never really made time for a relationship."

Blake felt a blush creep across her face as she suggested "Well, maybe I can be your first?" Zer0's face was almost completely red as he stammered "I-I-I-I wouldn't really know w-w-w-where to start. I've talked with Moxxi back on Pandora, but I don't think she's the best person to go to about romantic advice." Blake got up from the bed and basically straddled Zer0, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's easy, just close your eyes and relax." She advised. Zer0 closed his eyes, but she could feel his heart beating madly.

"I said relax." Blake chuckled. "It's kinda hard to…" Zer0 tried to explain as Blake lowered her head and pressed her lips to his. _"His lips are so soft."_ Blake thought as she pulled her boyfriend closer. She finally let Zer0 go and questioned "How was that for a first kiss?" Zer0 smiled and replied "I liked that. Can we do it again?"

"Sure."

Blake lowered her head back down and shared another kiss with Zer0. She felt Zer0's arms wrap around her, pulling her closer to him. She felt his hand slide to the back of her head and pulled her deeper into the kiss. The two were enjoying the moment until they heard the door start to open. The two broke their embrace and turned to see Axton walking into the room.

"Hey." He greeted awkwardly. "Hey. What's up?" Zer0 responded, trying to act like Blake wasn't sitting in his lap with his arms around her. "Do you two need a minute?" Axton questioned. "I think we're good." Blake responded. "Did you need something?" Axton explained "I just came back to get my scroll."

Axton went to his nightstand and grabbed his scroll. "Use protection." Axton advised with a sly smile. "And one more thing." He lifted his scroll up and the couple heard a camera click. "Everyone is going to love this." Axton chuckled. "Oh, and everyone knew you two were dating." Zer0 questioned "Really? You knew? Doubt it."

"Well, it was more of a theory than anything. Come on Zer0, if you have been following Blake for nearly two weeks. Since you haven't killed her, then you are dating her."

"Who says we're dating?"

Axton gave him a look that screamed _"Really?"_ and proclaimed "That would have made a compelling argument if Blake wasn't currently in your lap." Zer0 looked to Blake and chuckled "Looks like we're busted." Blake smiled and replied "Had to happen eventually." Axton exclaimed "I'm just going to get moving. I'll catch you two love birds later, and expect everyone else to give you shit about hiding you relationship from us." Blake replied "Fine by us. Have fun Axton and tell everyone we said hi."

"Sure thing Blake."

Axton waved as he walked out the door, leaving the two alone. "Do you think he's going to tell everyone?" Blake questioned. "Definitely." Zer0 groaned. "Maya's going to throw a fit about this."

"You were going to have to tell her anyway."

"Yeah, but hearing it from Axton will make it worse. Oh well, it doesn't matter now."

He looked at Blake with a smile and sighed "I have you, and that's what matters." Blake gave him a quick kiss and sighed "It's almost like one of my books."

"I think our relationship is a little young for us to go there."

Blake raised an eyebrow and questioned "What do you mean?" Zer0 explained "Well, Yang told us about your porno books." Blake immediately snapped "They are NOT porno books! They are romance novels!" Zer0 chuckled "Oh really? Get up for a second." Blake got off of Zer0's lap with a questioning look and Zer0 stood up, grabbing her book from his nightstand. He opened it to a random page and proceeded to read aloud "She firmly grasped him, feeling his pulse as she…" Blake immediately snatched the book from his hands, causing him to laugh. "See? Porno books." He laughed.

Blake spun around and proclaimed "You just don't appreciate a true romance novel." Zer0 wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder and chuckled "Maybe I don't, but I do appreciate you Blake. You are sweet, beautiful, an amazing fighter and a very good kisser."

"I was your first kiss so you really can't use that last one."

He kissed her cheek and proclaimed "I still think you are a good kisser." She tuned in his arms and wrapped hers around him. "You are completely ridiculous." She giggled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

O00000O00000O

Axton met up with Yang, Maya and Salvador at the movie theater. Gaige, Ruby and Krieg were busy working on new weapons even though giving Krieg one was a bad idea. Weiss didn't feel the need to hang out with them. _"Probably thinks she's better than all of us to go see a movie with us."_ Axton thought. He proclaimed "Guess who is now confirmed dating!"

Yang exclaimed "Have Zer0 and Blake finally come out as a couple?" Maya argued "Remember, Zer0 said Blake wasn't a dating option, she's just a challenge to him." Axton pulled out his scroll and replied "I am pretty sure that he was lying about that Maya."

"How can you be so sure?"

Axton held out his scroll to reveal the picture of Blake sitting in Zer0's lap with his arms around her. Maya felt her jaw drop and her heart shatter at the sight of the picture. _"He… he lied to me."_ Maya thought as the scroll was passed around. _"Why would he lie to me?"_ Maya felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Yang. "You alright Maya? You look… upset." Yang pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the farthest thing from alright at the moment." Maya replied, fighting tears. "Come on, maybe a funny movie'll cheer you up." Axton suggested.

"I'm not in the mood for a movie anymore… I just need some time alone."

Maya started walking back to Beacon, ignoring everyone that tried to stop her. She wanted answers, and she sure as hell was going to get them.

BOOM! Blake and Zer0 are caught and Maya's nearly out for blood! What's going to happen next? Find out next time on Vault of Vytal!

-Chief


	18. Chapter 18: Confrontation

For those who are not a fan of the relationship/drama stuff, this will be the last chapter that focuses on it. Figured that the story needs a little more violence and action.

Chapter 18: Confrontation

Blake and Zer0 walked through the empty halls, arms around each other. It was a Saturday night, so there were very few students were in the school. The two didn't care if anyone saw them since Axton caught them together and probably told both teams. Word spreads like wildfire at Beacon, so the news of their relationship would fill the school by tomorrow morning. Zer0 kissed the side of Blake's head and grumbled "I forgot my helmet. I'll be right back."

She felt his arms slip from her as they went their separate ways. Blake smiled and thought _"We don't have to hide anymore. We don't have to hide our relationship from the world and we don't have to hide anything from each other." _Blake turned a corner and was immediately blindsided and pinned against the wall by her throat. Blake instinctively grabbed her attacker's wrist as she was lifted off her feet. She opened her mouth and her attacker growled "Make a sound and I'll incinerate your brain right here!"

Blake opened her eyes to see a very pissed off Maya, make-up running from her obviously crying. "Why?" Maya growled as her grip on Blake's throat tightened. "Why did you do it?" Blake tried to ask what Maya was talking about, but Maya's grip was too tight. "Why did you steal him from me?!" Maya practically bellowed. Blake figured if she didn't break Maya's grip on her, she was either going to pass out or be killed.

Blake kicked her legs up and wrapped them around Maya's arm that had her pinned. Before Maya could react, Blake kicked her legs and nailed Maya's shoulder, causing her to release her grip. Blake dropped to the ground and kicked Maya's legs out from beneath her. As soon as Maya hit the ground, Blake shot down the hall. _"This is bad."_ Blake thought as she ran. _"I'm up against a Siren completely unarmed."_

She was halfway down the hall she was in when Blake was suddenly lifted from her feet. She turned her head to see Maya standing at the end of the hallway with her arm raised and her tattoos flaring. "You aren't getting away that easy." She barked as she yanked her arm back, pulling Blake towards her. Blake was released from her prison and slammed against the ground, rolling to Maya's feet. Blake was about to get up and run when Maya's boot came down on her stomach.

Blake recoiled from the stomp and was then kicked in the head. Blake laid on the ground as Maya growled "Are you going to answer my question?" Blake got to her knees, feeling blood running down her face from Maya's kick. Maya kicked Blake in the stomach and barked "Answer me!" Blake coughed "I can't…"

"LIAR!"

Maya kicked her in the stomach twice and barked "Why did you steal him from me?!" Blake rolled onto her back and coughed "I can't steal something from you that you never had in the first place." Maya's scowl deepened and she lifted her foot to stomp on Blake once more, but she anticipated that. Blake caught Maya's foot and twisted it, throwing her off balance. Blake jumped to her feet and punched Maya in the face before she could react.

Maya faltered but remained standing. Blake shot forward and kneed Maya in the stomach, dropping her to her knees. Blake delivered another quick kick to her stomach again, bringing Maya lower to the ground. Blake had a massive headache and a large amount of pain in her stomach. Maya remained on the ground, attempting to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her.

"You knew how I felt about him." Maya wheezed. "And yet you still went after him." Blake panted "I didn't go after him, he came after me. Maya, why can't you see that he just doesn't feel the same way about you?"

"Because after everything we've been through! That's why! I… I just can't accept that we went through everything together and he just not feel the same way. It's… it's not fair."

Blake couldn't see Maya's tears, but she knew they were there as she ranted. "It isn't fair that I worked so hard to be with Zer0 and he just ignores me for some girl he just met. What makes you so special?" Maya cried. Blake knelt down to try and comfort Maya, even though she was just trying to kill her. Maya took Blake's moment of pity and tackled her. Maya pinned Blake to the ground and punched her across the face.

"You should have said no to him!" Maya barked as she punched Blake again. "You should have stuck with the guys here and left him alone!" Maya was about to punch Blake again, but she caught her fist and threw her off. Maya rolled and Blake jumped to her feet and readied herself. "I know what you saw in Zer0." Blake chuckled as she wiped the blood from her lip. "At first I didn't see what you saw in him, but then I started to get to know him." Maya got up and looked mad as hell.

"Shut… your… mouth." Maya growled, tattoos almost white with rage. Blake wasn't sure why she was patronizing Maya at the moment, the enraged Siren already wanted to kill her so why taunt her? "Zer0's a really great guy." Blake went on. "He's smart, sweet, not to mention handsome." Maya growled "I said SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" She raised her arm and a purple orb shot out of her palm, nailing Blake in the chest.

Blake slammed onto her back and noticed her chest was covered in a purple residue. Maya stomped on her and growled "This is called slag, a byproduct of eridium. We used correctly, it can cause mutations and acts as a damage amplifier." Maya lifted her boot and stomped down onto Blake's chest again, causing her to yelp in pain. Maya knelt down, putting her weight on Blake's chest, and asked "Any last requests?" Blake cried with a smile "Can you tell Zer0 that the week we were together was amazing, and I'm glad I was his first kiss?"

Maya scowled and replied "Don't expect me to tell Zer0 any of that." Blake chuckled weakly "I really didn't think you would. I just wanted you to know what you were taking from Zer0 for your own, selfish, needs." Maya lifted her hand and grabbed Blake's head, pressing her palm against Blake's forehead. "Goodbye, Blake." Maya grumbled as her tattoos started to flare. She was ready to kill the girl until something hit the back of her head, throwing her off of Blake.

She rolled and shot up to face her attacker, Zer0. He was in his full assassin gear with his katana out and Rex in hand. "Stay out of this Zer0." Maya ordered. "This has nothing to do with you." Zer0 responded "You attacked Blake. It deals with me even if it has nothing to do with me."

"Why? Why does it deal with you? Is it because Blake is your girlfriend?"

Zer0's stance deepened and he replied "That's exactly why." He vanished from sight and Maya tried to figure out where he was going to attack from. Suddenly, he reappeared right in front of her and struck her across the face with the butt of his sword. Maya flew to the side and was intercepted by a knee straight to her stomach. Maya collapsed to the ground and felt the sharp edge of Zer0's blade on the back of her neck.

"Professor Ozpin told me that if any students turned up dead that I would be the first suspect, can't say I blame him. If one of us ever turned on a student I would have figured it would have been me or Krieg, but never you Maya. I thought you were better than us, that you wouldn't kill an innocent person." Zer0 lectured. "But I guess that's what Pandora does to you, turns you into a monster. I'm going to get Blake some medical attention, but we are not done talking." Maya felt the blade leave her neck and watched Zer0 move over to Blake, who was still lying on the ground. He gently picked her head up and questioned in a soft voice "Are you okay? What hurts?" Blake groaned "I've got a splitting headache, some pain in my chest and serious pain in my stomach. But other than that I'm fine."

"Come on. I'll get you to the nurse's office and we'll get you some help."

He gently picked her up into a bridal carry and carried her down the hall. Zer0 brought her to the nurse's office and the nurse started freaking out. "What happened?" She shouted as he placed Blake into a bed. "What did you do?" Zer0 dropped his head and thought _"I save my girlfriend's life and I'm somehow responsible for her condition? Future note to self: Stop advertising being an assassin."_ Blake explained "We went out into the woods so Zer0 could show me a few tools from Pandora when a Boarbatusk attacked. It hit me and Zer0 saved me."

A "?" appeared on Zer0's helmet as the nurse apologized "Sorry about blaming you then. Here, I'll get you some medicine." The nurse went to a cupboard while Zer0 whispered "Why did you just lie?" Blake responded "Maya's not in her right mind, she's heart broken. It's not an excuse for trying to kill me, and now I officially hate her, but she's your friend."

"Right now I'm questioning that."

Zer0 felt his scroll vibrate and looked to see a message from Maya. _"I'll be in my room."_ It read. "I'm going to go talk to her." Zer0 sighed as he put his scroll away. "I'll be right back." He was about to leave when he felt Blake grab his hand. He turned and she was making a pouting face.

He smirked and lifted his helmet. The two shared a kiss and Blake commented "Now you can go." Zer0 slid his helmet back down and proceeded to Maya's room. _"Why did Maya attack Blake like that? Does us being in a relationship really make her angry enough to kill Blake?"_ Zer0 thought as he approached the door. He took a deep breath and sighed "Hopefully this goes better than before."

He walked in to see Maya sitting at her desk with her back to the window, arms crossed across her chest and legs crossed. Zer0 shut the door and filled the room with a terribly awkward silence. "What else do you have to say to me?" Maya questioned, breaking the silence. Zer0's fist tightened as he questioned "Why did you attack Blake?"

"Because she stole you from me. After Axton showed us the picture of you two I simply lost it."

"So you attacked my girlfriend?"

Maya scowled and replied "Yes. I attacked that little slut you…" Zer0 shot across the room and punched Maya in the face. She held onto her newly broken nose as Zer0 growled "Do not. Call her. A slut." Maya looked up at him and she barked "Why did you lie to me? You lied about you and Blake, lied about not looking for a relationship… what else are you lying about?" Zer0 sighed "Because I needed to find a way to break the news to you easily. I didn't want to hurt you, but clearly that wasn't the issue."

"So Axton taking a picture of you two was the way you decided?"

"It wasn't the best option, but both of us doubted that he would keep it to himself."

"So, how long did the two of you keep this a secret?"

"About a week. Our first date was after we were released from the hospital."

Maya dropped her head and grumbled "So there really was no chance between us." Zer0 sighed "I told you that before. I was hoping that you would understand after I told you how old I was. Maya, I'm sorry that this had to happen. But now I'm giving you a warning." She looked up at him with a questioning look as he leaned down and growled "If you do anything hostile towards Blake again… you will feel my blade across you throat. Is this clear?" Maya shot up and barked "Are you serious!?"

"Dead serious. I will kill you Maya."

"But we're friends!"

"And I'm starting to question that since you tried to kill Blake! You went after her because you want me and now she stands in your way! That doesn't sound like a friend to me!"

Zer0 was simply fuming at this point and took a deep breath. "We're done here." He exhaled and walked out. He took his helmet off and ran his fingers through his hair. He walked into the nurse's office and took a seat next to Blake's bed. She turned towards him and questioned "How'd it go?" He sighed "Not as good as I wanted it to. Our friendship is on the rocks now, breaking her nose probably didn't help."

Blake chuckled "Breaking her nose sounds good to me." Zer0 sighed "I wish you two could just be friends."

"Well, it isn't going to happen now or probably ever."

Zer0 took her hand and looked into her eyes. She smiled back wordlessly, causing Zer0 to smile. _"My relationship is in the open and I've probably lost a friend."_ Zer0 thought. _"What a day."_


	19. Chapter 19: MM and SA

Chapter 19: The Meat Motorcycle and The Shadow Anarchist

Gaige and Ruby sat at a workbench in the Beacon workshop, putting together Gaige's new weapon. The two had been working on the weapon for almost two weeks and it was almost perfect. Dub step played in the background and the two's heads moved to the beat of the music. The two had basically become the best of friends over their love of building machines. Gaige was putting the last cover piece on her new weapon and declared "It's alive! It's ALIVE!"

"We've done it!" Ruby cheered as she raised a wrench and a screwdriver in the air. "We've created… a masterpiece!" Gaige put her arm around Ruby and proclaimed "Yes my dear Rubles, we've created a wonder of science!" Ruby smiled and questioned "Would you like to take it for a test run?"

"I sure as hell would! Let's get to the arena!"

Gaige grabbed her jacket as Ruby grabbed her cloak and the two headed for arena. The weapon looked like Crescent Rose, but was black with a white Anarchy symbol on it. "So what are you gonna call your new weapon?" Ruby questioned. "I don't know, maybe after I test it out I'll have a name for the beauty." Gaige responded.

"She is a beauty, isn't she?"

"Indeed she is."

The two entered the arena to find the place completely empty, so they had the entire place to themselves. "We should find a teacher or someone to watch over us." Ruby proclaimed. Gaige laughed "Seriously? You really think we need adult supervision? We can just… supervise each other."

"I really don't think that's allowed."

"Relax my dear Rubles. Here, just show me how to use this and we can have some real fun!"

Ruby shrugged and the two stepped up to the stage, each holding their weapons. "Let's start with the basic scythe techniques." Ruby proclaimed as she deployed Crescent Rose. Gaige opened her new weapon into its scythe form and Ruby instructed "Spread your feet more, wielding a scythe requires balance." Gaige spread her feet as Ruby tapped her heels, signaling for Gaige to spread her feet a little more. Ruby questioned "Which is your strong side?"

"I'm right handed." Gaige replied.

"Then hold closer to the blade with your right hand, which will give your swings more power."

Gaige adjusted her holding on her scythe like Ruby instructed, thinking that the weapon felt right in her hands. "Now try a side swing, just pull back and then swing." Ruby instructed. Gaige pulled back and then gave it a swing, causing Ruby to think _"Wow, she's picking up quick."_ Ruby watched Gaige give her new weapon a few swings and it all seemed natural to her. Gaige decided to give a few swings of her own and tired a downward slash.

She slashed and felt the momentum start to pull her forward, so she stepped forward and spun. She slashed as she followed through with her spin and caught the weapon. Gaige reared her weapon back and started to swing, hitting the switch on the handle and had the blade rotate. She gave the weapon a few swings to get a feel for the rotated blade. She turned to Ruby, who had a massive smile on her face and questioned "How was that?"

"That was… perfect!" Ruby cheered. "I can't believe you picked up on how to use a scythe so quickly!" Gaige placed her weapon on her shoulder and replied "Thanks Rubles. You deserve most of the credit since you are such a good teacher." Ruby replied "I'm not that great of a teacher." Gaige threw her arm around Ruby and laughed "You are Ruby! You taught me how to use my new weapon! I just pick up on things really quick. You kinda have to when you live on Pandora." Ruby smiled and exclaimed "Thanks Gaige."

Gaige smiled and was about to say something when the doors to the arena and Gaige's least favorite person walked in; Weiss Schnee. Gaige's smile disappeared as the Ice Queen walked over to the two of them. "What exactly do you think you are doing Ruby?" Weiss scolded. "You should be studying right now." Ruby dropped her head and grumbled "You're right Weiss." Gaige stopped Ruby from walking away and proclaimed "Piss off princess, Ruby is a little busy at the moment. She's helping me with my new weapon."

Weiss shot Gaige a cold glare and replied "Ruby has certain responsibilities as team leader. Teaching some punk how to fight is no tone of them." Gaige scowled and exclaimed "Get lost princess. Me and Ruby have some more training to do since she's being a friend. Not like you know what that is."

"Stop calling me princess, punk. She had studying to do. Let's go Ruby."

"Since I'm such a good friend, I'll let Ruby decide."

Gaige turned to Ruby and questioned "What do you want to do Rubles? Do you want to go study with princess? Or do you want to stay and see how our weapon does?" Ruby was about to respond when Weiss proclaimed "She has studying to do. She doesn't have time for frivolous teachings. Let's go Ruby." Ruby crossed her arms and declared "No, I'm going to stay her with Gaige." Weiss was going to protest, but Ruby continued "I am the leader of Team RWBY, not you Weiss. I make my own decisions and I'm choosing to stay here and observe something that I have worked hard on."

Weiss stammered "Why you… the sheer nerve… I just…" Gaige laughed "You heard your leader princess! Now get lost!" Weiss glared at Gaige and snarled "Why don't you make me." Gaige's grin turned evil as she replied "With pleasure. I don't think you've met Deathtrap yet." Gaige raised her robotic arm and summoned Deathtrap.

Deathtrap turned towards Gaige as she ordered "Deathtrap, would you be so kind as to escort Mrs. Schnee out… forcefully is preferred." Deathtrap nodded and floated over to Weiss, who seemed like she was prepared for a fight. Deathtrap grabbed her by the waist and started floating towards the door. "Let go of me you floating piece of trash!" Weiss snapped as she tried to free herself from Deathtrap's grip. Deathtrap opened the doors and proceeded to toss Weiss out of the room.

Gaige evilly laughed "I should give you an extra set of arms just for high fives!" Deathtrap floated over to Gaige as Ruby groaned "Weiss is going to be really mad about this."

"Who cares what princess thinks?"

"She's gonna yell at me again."

Gaige put her arm around Ruby and declared "No need to worry my dear Rubles! I'll make sure she doesn't!" Ruby nervously questioned "You aren't going to kill her, right?"

"What? No! Of course not… I was just going to beat her within an inch of her life."

"Gaige…"

She groaned "Fiiiine. I won't do that either, but I'm not going to let my best friend get lectured by some stuck up bitch." Ruby sighed "Thank you. Now let's get back to seeing how your weapon works." Ruby hopped off the stage and went to a panel by the side. "Let's test the firing mechanism and see if we got it right, which I know we did." Ruby proclaimed as she tapped a few buttons. "Of course we did," Gaige assured as she readied her scythe, "we're geniuses."

Two holograms of Beowolves appeared on the stage and Gaige slammed her blade into the ground for support. He pulled back on the charging handle and bellowed "ANARCHY!" She pulled the trigger and rounds started to fly out of the barrel at the top of the scythe, just like Crescent Rose. The rounds missed their targets, but would ricochet off anything and bounce back at the targets. The holograms dissipated as soon as the rounds hit them.

"Firing mechanism is in perfect working order!" Gaige cheered as she pulled the blade from the ground. "Looks like you have your new weapon Gaige." Ruby giggled. "So what are you going to name it?" Gaige looked up at the ceiling and pondered the name of her new weapon. "Shadow…" Gaige started. "Shadow Anarchist."

"It's… fitting for you."

Gaige collapsed the Shadow Anarchist and put it on her back as she jumped off the stage. She walked over to her best friend and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you Ruby." Gaige thanked. "Thank you for helping me make this amazing weapon." Ruby returned the hug and replied "It isn't a problem Gaige. I had fun working with you." Gaige finally let Ruby go and suggested "Let's go do something fun!"

Ruby raised her eyebrow and questioned "Like what?"

"I don't know, let's go see a movie! That sounds like fun right now!"

"Sure, why not?"

Gaige cheered and exclaimed "Hell yeah! Deathtrap! Up!" Deathtrap lowered to the ground and allowed Gaige to climb onto his shoulder. Gaige held out her normal hand and Ruby took it. Gaige lifted her best friend up so she could sit on Deathtrap's other shoulder and declared "To our rooms my dear Deathtrap!" Deathtrap floated silently through the door as Ruby questioned "Where can I get one of these?"

Gaige scratched her chin and asked "Are you willing to chop your arm off?"

"Not really. I'll just stick with Crescent Rose then."

"That'll be our next project! We can build you your own badass bot!"

Ruby smiled and thought _"She's such a great friend. I'm really lucky to have someone like her at my side."_

O00000O00000O

Nora and Ren worked diligently on Krieg's new weapon. Against everyone's wishes, Nora decided to help Krieg build a new weapon and Ren decided to help her. "I still think this is a bad idea." Ren warned. "Oh don't worry so much!" Nora assured as she put the finishing touches on the new weapon. "This will work out just fine!" Krieg's inner voice groaned _"If only she knew what really happens up here."_

"OUR MEAT BICYCLE WILL BRING ABOUT THE SLAUGHTER OF AGES!"

"Yes Krieg! Your new weapon will be a tool of sheer destruction!" Nora cheered as she finished the weapon. She picked up the grenade launcher that was the color of bone and the barrel was splashed red like blood. Krieg grabbed the weapon and bellowed "THANK YOU EXPLOSION BUDDY!" Nora smiled and replied "You are welcome Krieg. Why don't we go test your new weapon out? This way you can give your weapon a name!" Ren muttered "Bad idea Nora. Very, bad, idea."

"Nonsense! Come on Krieg! Let's head out to Forever Fall and find some monsters."

"LET THE SLAUGHTER COMENSE!"

Nora picked up Magnhild and proclaimed "Then let's get going!" Ren picked up StormFlower and groaned "This is a very bad idea." The trio left the school and headed into Forest of Forever Fall in search of monsters. Krieg's inner voice grumbled _"Now remember Krieg, let's not get carried away this time." _ Krieg bellowed "SHE CAN TASTE MY BLOODY HATRED!" Nora and Ren looked at Krieg with confused looks as Krieg twitched.

"Nora I seriously believe this is a bad idea." Ren whispered to Nora. "I doubt this guy can form a coherent thought." Krieg's inner voice agreed _"He's not too far off."_ Nora argued "Don't be such a spoil sport! We'll have fun!" Ren sighed and shook his head as Krieg bellowed "I AM THE CONDUCTOR OF THE POOP TRAIN!" Krieg's inner voice groaning _"Why must you shout about poop?"_

Ren was about to say something when they all heard a loud growling noise. All three of them drew their weapons and went back to back as they searched for the source of the growl. Ren spotted a large pair of red eyes and declared "I got him." Nora spotted a pair as well and exclaimed "I've got one too!" Krieg saw another pair of eyes and bellowed "THE FIRE SPOTS ARE STARING AT ME!"

The eyes emerged from the bushes to reveal a large trio of Ursa, eyes glowing red in hunger. "This is not good." Ren declared as he pointed StormFlower at the Ursa near him. "We can take them!" Nora proclaimed as she pulled out Magnhild in its hammer form. "Now would be a really good time to test out your new weapon Krieg." Krieg pulled out his weapon and bellowed "YOUR FACE IS CAKE! NOW WHO WANTS THE FIRST SLICE!?" He hit the small switch on the side of the handle and the weapon started to transform.

The drum of the grenade launcher turned sideways and extended about five feet, small spikes popping out of the sides. The butt stock extended and extra three feet, allowing for Krieg to grab onto it for better grip. "WHO NEEDS A MEAT BICYCLE WHEN YOU HAVE THE MEAT MOTORCYCLE!?" Krieg bellowed as the spikes started to spin with a loud revving sound. He charged the Ursa, which charged with an agitated roar. The Ursa stood on two feet to crush Krieg, but he ran underneath the Grimm's massive paws and jammed his Meat Motorcycle into the Grimm's stomach.

"BLOOD! BLOOD!BLOOD!" Krieg cheered as the Grimm's blood covered him and his Meat Motorcycle ripped the Ursa to shreds. _"This weapon is amazing! Listen to me, use it in the grenade launcher form. It will be awesome!" _Krieg's inner voice cheered. Krieg ripped his Meat Motorcycle from the Ursa's stomach and quickly turned it back into its grenade launcher form. "BOOM!" Krieg simply stated as he pointed the grenade launcher at a Grimm. He one armed a grenade shot that nailed the Ursa in the head.

The beast faltered, but it didn't go down. Krieg continually shot grenades at the Ursa until the upper body was nothing more than a bloody stump. Krieg turned to face the final Ursa, which was in the middle of a charge towards him. _"This is going to hurt."_ Krieg's inner voice groaned as the Ursa connected with him. Krieg flew through the air and smashed through a tree, nearly killing him.

"Krieg!" Nora cried ashes started to attack the Ursa. Krieg felt his body begin to change and bellowed "NO! NO, NO, NO!" His body grew larger as his right arm grew and left arm shrunk. He stood up to see his new friends fighting off the Ursa. "YOU CAN'T STOP WHAT I'VE BECOME!" Krieg bellowed as he charged out of the forest.

"Krieg?" Nora questioned, diverting her attention to Krieg instead of the Ursa. The Ursa saw its opportunity and swung a massive paw at Nora, throwing and slamming her into a tree. Krieg swung his Meat Motorcycle and sliced the Ursa's paw off, causing the Grimm to bellow in pain. Krieg looked over to Nora and Ren and Nora didn't seem to be in very good condition. He could see blood starting to leak from her lips.

Krieg forgot about the Ursa and immediately ran over to Nora and Ren. "She's not going to make it." Ren exclaimed. Krieg could hear the sadness in his voice and Krieg's inner voice barked _"Try picking her up! Use our Redeem the Soul skill and help her!" _Krieg did what his inner voice told him and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder. "You don't die, I DIE!"." Krieg bellowed as he started to take Nora's injuries from her.

He could feel his ribs breaking and organs rupturing as Nora's eyes started to flutter open. Krieg's body shrunk down to his normal size and he pulled out sticks of dynamite. He turned towards the Ursa that was starting to get up and bellowed "I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!" He started throwing the dynamite at the Ursa, causing the beast to falter and stopped it from attacking him. He was on top of the Ursa and detonated the dynamite in his hand.

Nora and Ren shielded themselves and were covered in the Ursa's blood. "Did Krieg just… did he just sacrifice himself?" Nora questioned shakily as she looked at the blood on her body. "He did." Ren sighed. "He took your wounds and blew himself up to kill the Ursa." Ren helped Nora to her feet, who seemed horribly shaken from the event in front of her. "IT'S TIME TO BLEED!" They heard Krieg bellow.

The pair's eyes widened as the smoke from the explosion cleared and revealed Krieg standing there. Nora smiled and cheered "You're alive!" She tackled Krieg in a hug and cried "I'm so happy you're alive!" Krieg's inner voice exclaimed _"Now gently wrap your arms around her. It's called a hug."_ Krieg slowly wrapped his arms around Nora and grumbled "Can't let new friends die on me."

Ren walked over to Krieg and put a hand on his arm. "Thank you Krieg." He proclaimed. "Thank you for saving Nora." Krieg smiled behind his mask and bellowed "HURT THE ONES YOU LOVE!" Ren smiled and chuckled "I would rather now hurt my new friend."

"THANK YOU PINK MAN!"

Nora finally let Krieg go and Ren sighed "Let's head back. I think we've had enough excitement for one day." Nora and Krieg nodded in agreement and the trio headed back to Beacon.

**A/N:** (guitar solo is inserted here) So there's another Krieg/Gaige centric chapter for all y'all. So now we have the Meat Motorcycle and the Shadow Anarchist in the list of RWBY weapons. Hope y'all liked the more violent chapter than the drama/ romance stuff. Anyway, review or PM anything about the story. What you like or didn't like or whatever you want to see is appreciated.

-Chief


	20. Chapter 20: The New Plan

So now we are going to return to a more plot based chapter. I figure the story would go down like Borderlands 2, you've got your plot quests… and then a shit ton of side quests. Regardless… NEW CHAPTER! (DRUM SOLO!)

Chapter 20: The New Plan

All of the Vault Hunters sat in the male Vault Hunter room. Zer0 sat on his bed with his helmet off to his side and Gaige working on a schematic for something she was keeping a secret. Axton sat in a chair with his feet up on the desk while Salvador sat on his bed. Maya sat on Krieg's bed while Krieg leaned against the wall by the door. "How much longer do you think you'll need before you get the fast-travel station up and running?" Axton questioned, breaking the silence.

"A lot longer than originally believed." Gaige exclaimed without looking up. "This planet doesn't have all of the necessary materials to make one. I basically have to invent most of the components myself before we can head home." The room became silent again and Zer0 asked "So how long do you think?"

"A year, maybe longer with all the classes and things we do now."

All of the Vault Hunters sighed and the room became quiet again. "So what is the plan now?" Maya questioned. "Are we going to wait for Gaige to invent the fast-travel station… or do we go with what the voice was telling us back at the museum?" No one wanted to say it, but all of them were thinking that they would have to steal the orb back at the museum. "So how are we going to get the orb?" Salvador questioned. "We're going to have to steal it." Zer0 proclaimed. "I know everyone is thinking it… I'm just saying it."

Axton sighed "I know we are all thinking it, but none of us are willing to do it. If that orb goes missing, then we are the first that are going to be investigated." Zer0 suggested "What if it wasn't sue who stole it?" Everyone looked at him with a questioning look and Gaige asked "What are you talking about?" Zer0 stood up and slid his helmet on, proclaiming "Don't worry. I get us the orb and we can be one step closer to being home." He walked out of the room, leaving everyone in the dark about his plans.

"What do you guys think he's going to do?" Maya questioned. "I don't know," Axton answered, "but we should just let him do what he needs to do. He's probably done this kind of thing before, so we shouldn't need to worry about it." Krieg bellowed "NUMBER MAN WILL GUIDE US THROUGH OUR PERILOUS JOURNEY AND BRING US TO THE PROMISE LAND!" Everyone chuckled as Krieg's outburst as Axton asked "What are you working on so intently?" Gaige exclaimed "It's something for Ruby. So mind your own business."

Axton quickly snatched the schematic out from under Gaige's hands and took a look at it. "Give that back!" Gaige blurted as she tried to take it back. Axton put his palm on her forehead and held her back as he inspected the plans. It was the design for a large axe wielding robot that was similar to Deathtrap, only this one had legs. There was a title at the top and Axton thought it was the name of the bot; CH0P- TRP.

"You're building Little Red Riding Hood her huntsman." Axton chuckled. "Oh and what's this? To my dear Rubles, for being the bestest friend ever." Gaige punched Axton's arm and then socked him in the stomach. Axton doubled over as Gaige snatched the plans from Axton's hands. "Yes, I'm building Ruby her own robot. Since she made me a new weapon, I'm building her a bot." Gaige explained as she returned to her work. Axton coughed "Did you have to punch me?"

"Yes, I did since you didn't give me my stuff back."

Axton returned to his seat and everyone started to make idle conversation.

O00000O00000O

Zer0 walked through a very dark part of town in search of one place in particular. The part of town he was in wasn't exactly the greatest place to be, since on every corner was a small group of thugs waiting for someone to jump. Zer0 wasn't in his assassin gear, instead he wore a grey shirt with a grey jacket and blue jeans. He was in search of a certain building, a bar almost with the name Black Corner. He turned a corner and saw the sign with blue neon letters.

He walked in and surveyed the area to see it was a pretty large room with the bar off to his left. There were a good number of patrons there sitting at the tables to the right. Zer0 joined the two other men at the bar and the bar tender questioned "What'll you have?" Zer0 exclaimed "Just a beer." The bar tender brought him a beer and questioned "What brings ya here?"

"Looking for someone to help me out."

"Sure there are a few guys who'll give you a hand… for the right price."

Zer0 reached into his pocket and pulled out a large stack of cash and set it on the bar. He looked over his shoulder to see several men standing up. Zer0 surveyed each one and grumbled "Not what I'm looking for." They each sat down and a man called "Then what are you looking for?" Zer0 looked to the door to see a man in a white suit.

He had red hair that covered one eye with a boulder hat on and a cane in his gloved hand. His other hand held a smoking cigar as he walked over to Zer0. "A White Fang member." Zer0 simply proclaimed. "I need a good thief, someone who's good at it." The man took a drag from his cigar and exclaimed "Why are you looking for a White Fang member? I'm sure one of these guys could help you out."

"I've heard that White Fang members are thieves, murderers and killers. That is exactly what I'm looking for."

"I don't recall catching your name."

Zer0 took a sip from his beer and replied "That's because I didn't give one. You didn't give me a name either." The man chuckled and replied "I didn't, how rude of me. Roman Torchwick, pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand, but Zer0 simply stared at him. "I think I could get you what you are looking for." Roman proclaimed. "Really? You could get me a White Fang member?" Zer0 questioned.

"I could indeed, but you would have to do something for me."

Zer0 tapped the stack of cash and Roman proclaimed "Not cash, but a favor. I can tell from the blade at your side that you aren't exactly the most innocent of a person." Zer0 replied "You want me to kill a certain person."

"There are several people, but I will let you chose one. Do we have a deal?"

Roman held out his hand to Zer0, who reached over to it. "Get me my man," Zer0 exclaimed, "then you'll have your target dead." Zer0 shook Roman's hand and settled the deal. "I'll contact you when I have your man." Roman proclaimed. "Good. Until then." Zer0 exclaimed as stood up and walked out.

Zer0 walked out of the bar and headed back toward Beacon. He smirked at the thought of his devious plan and knew it would go just fine.

O00000O00000O

Blake was sleeping soundly until she felt someone start pushing on her shoulder. She turned and lazily opened her eyes to see Zer0 kneeling by her bed. She was about to say something when he put his finger to his lips and pointed towards the door. She nodded and followed him out into the hallway. She shut the door and questioned "What's going on?"

"I need your help." He simply stated.

"With what exactly?"

Zer0 scratched the back of his head and replied "I need you to help me pull of a heist." Blake's eyes widened and she exclaimed "What! Why are you pulling off a heist?!" Zer0 explained "It will take Gaige too long to get us back home, so we're going after the orb from the museum."

"So we're going to steal it?"

"That is what the plan is."

Blake pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed "Why can't you just wait for Gaige to build the station." Zer0 repeated "Because that will take almost a year for her to build it."

"Would that be so bad? I mean, we would be together for a longer amount of time."

Zer0 put his hands on her shoulders and sighed "I know. I do want to be with you Blake, and I need your help." Blake took a step forward and placed her forehead on his shoulder. "What I need to do?" Blake questioned. "I just need you to follow my lead." Zer0 exclaimed.

"Is… is anyone going to die?"

"If everything goes according to plan then no one should be killed."

"And if everything doesn't go according to plan?"

"Then some people are going to wake up with some serious headaches."

Blake took a deep breath and sighed "Good. I've done my fair share of crimes, so this shouldn't be a problem. I just need you to promise no one will die." Zer0 smiled and promised "I promise that no one will die."

"Good. I'm going back to bed. Goodnight Zer0."

She kissed him and returned to her room. Zer0 dragged his hand down his face and grumbled "No killing. That will make this a little more difficult, but I'll manage." He headed back to his room to find Salvador and Krieg asleep and Axton sitting at the desk. Axton turned to see Zer0 and questioned "So what did you do?" Zer0 laid across his bed and exclaimed "We'll have the orb in no time."

"So what is your plan? If you don't mind me asking."

"The original plan was to get a member of a highly noted organization. In this case, a member of the White Fang. We would go in, get what we were looking for and get out. Just before leaving the area, kill the White Fang member. This way, there's a body that can link the group to the crime and not point at us."

"Before you said original, what changed?"

"I needed a little more help so I have Blake coming with me. She doesn't want anyone to be killed, so that complicates things a bit."

"What's the new plan?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet, but I'll figure it out."

Axton ran his fingers through his hair and sighed "I hope you know what you're doing Zer0. Because if you mess this up, we're going to be seeing some more wanted posters of us." Zer0 responded "Everything will work out, trust me."

"You know I do man."

Bam, Zer0's got a plan to steal the orb so he and his friends can return home. What will his new plan be now that he can't kill? We shall see. Review or PM any thoughts or questions or suggestions or criticism. Special thanks to NeoNazo356 for the idea of Ruby's bot being a huntsman/ lumberjack. Also to clear any confusion on Krieg's and Gaige's weapons, here is a quick bio of them

Meat Motorcycle: Grenade launcher similar to Nora's Magnhild, but bone colored with blood red paint splashed on the barrel. Can transform into a chainsaw but turning the grenade drum and extending with spikes popping out of the sides. Basically a massive upgrade to his Meat Bicycle.

Shadow Anarchist: Almost a perfect copy of Ruby's Crescent Rose, only Shadow Anarchist is black with a white Anarchy symbol on the side. The difference between the two is Shadow Anarchist is a submachine gun, not a sniper rifle. This wasn't really made obvious in the chapter and I apologize.

So there is something for everybody. Until next time.

-Chief


End file.
